*** Pères de l'Europe: 50 ans après Perspectives sur l'engagement européen. Etablissements Bruylant (67 rue de la Régence, B-1000 Brussels. Tel.: (32-2) 5126709 - Fax: 5117202). Collection "Bibliothèque de la Fondation Paul-Henri Spaak". 2001, 236 pp, 900 FB. ISBN 2-8027-1443-0.
To mark the fiftieth anniversary of the Schuman Declaration, the Paul-Henri Spaak Foundation dedicated an international conference to the theme of the men without whom the most revolutionary and innovative idea of the second half of the twentieth century - as Viscount Etienne Davignon describes it in the preface - would never have been able to crystallise at a time when the sufferings of the Second World War were still fresh in everyone's memory. This conference, and the book which publishes the interventions at the conference, discussed the activity of personalities who led de facto public opinion in their countries and therefore played a literally decisive role. Covering Jean Monnet, Robert Schuman, Conrad Adenauer, Alcide de Gasperi, the Netherlands' Stikker, Beyen and Luns, Luxembourg's Joseph Bech and Belgium's Paul-Henri Spaak and Paul Van Zeeland, the book provides a tour of the Pantheon of the Founding Fathers of Europe.
The former Vice President of the European Commission provides a rough outline of who these individuals were, "If we made an in-depth analysis of these different people, I'm not sure they would have spent their holidays together". There were, however, he continues, three things that each of them had in common. Firstly, "having physically experienced failure in the traditional political arena, the men of their generation felt a certain responsibility" founded on striking a balance and continually striving for dialogue. Secondly, these men who had served in government "knew that an idea that lacks structure remains ephemeral" and that in order to break this vicious circle would mean resorting to using new instruments. The third and undoubtedly the most important and determining factor - revealed by Stevie Davignon - is that these men acknowledged that, "their private life required total commitment to this project, in clear recognition that, "their life as men required a commitment that went beyond that of both the ordinary and unforeseen turn of events that can occur in the saga of political life at any moment, which had begun and would not cease" etc. Food for thought. In the background: academics of a very high-level sketch the profiles of these individuals. Professor Gérard Bossuat (Université de Cergy-Pontoise) thus depicts "the Three Faces of Monnet", portraying the "the Atlanticist", the "Father of Europe" and the man who perhaps had "the Makings of a Hero". Professor Marie-Thérèse Bitsch (Université Robert Schuman de Strasbourg) tackles the question of knowing which man could have measured up to Robert Schuman, "for having dared take political responsibility for the project elaborated by Jean Monnet". Hans Peter Mensing from the Adenauer Foundation brings to light the European and Atlantic direction of the first post-war German Chancellor, covering the period before 1933 and from 1949. The contribution by Antonio Varsori (Università degli Studi in Florence) covers Alcide de Gasperi; Professor Jan Willem Brouwer (Universities of Nijmegen and Leiden) explores Dutch European policy by focusing on the individuals, Stikker, and "Atlantic Europe", Beyen, " the architect of the EEC" and Luns "le communautariste" (of whom de Gaulle once said: "He is a very strange individual, that Mr Luns: he loves France, he is a francophile yet anti-Gaullist. He ought to know that that in itself is a contradiction"). Through Joseph Bech, Thierry Grosbois (Marie Curie Fellow at the Université d'Artois) traces, "The European Evolution of a Small Country" and individuals such as Spaak and Van Zeeland are described by Professor Michel Dumoulin (President of the Institut d'études européennes de l'Université catholique de Louvain). Professor Piers Ludlow from the London School of Economics paints us a portrait of "An Absent Father" by asking whether a failure of leadership explains Britain's rejection of the Schuman Plan in 1950.
It is of course impossible to provide a detailed review of all the contributions included in this selection even though they are worthy of it. But saving one till the end, we'll single out Professor Robert Franck's attempt to establish a typology (Université de Paris I). He points out that all these men had a lot of international experience and sympathy and were indeed "internationalist". They succeeded in developing an "anti-nationalist patriotism" to which the humanist quality, either Christian or Socialist, and anti-totalitarianism can be added. This explains how they became, "convinced Atlanticists" (as opposed to General de Gaulle "whose political culture" was "completely different"). They had all experienced the "syndrome of defeat" (as opposed to their British contemporaries) and cultivated an "obsession of getting their respective counties out of the woods". This explains their conviction that nothing could be like it was before and their "deep-seated desire for change". Above all, Professor Franck depicts these men as "committed decision-makers, capable of finding a balance between the ethics of conviction and responsibility", and who were "fundamentally ambivalent political administrators". This led them to reject the notion of, "English pragmatism, namely, a realism that isolates itself in reality so as not to change it". A description, which in the current context, is not insignificant.
Michel Theys
*** DANIELLE BOSSAERT, CHRISTOPH DEMMKE, KOEN NOMDEN, ROBERT POLET: La Fonction publique dans l'Europe des Quinze. Nouvelles tendances et évolutions. European Institute for Public Administration (22 O. L. Vrouweplein, PO Box 1229, NL-6201 BE, Maastricht. Internet: http://www.eipa.nl ). 2001, 356 pp. ISBN 90-6779-153-9.
The field of public administration is still quite clearly the remit of Member States themselves. It is indeed the case that when Ministers in charge of this sector meet up at a European level, it is always on the initiative of the Presidency currently holding office, at a simple and informal meeting. There is, nonetheless, as observed by Professor Gérard Druesne in his preface, a certain perceptible "Europeanisation" of public functions. This study, carried out by the European Public Management Unit at the European Institute of Maastricht, describes and compares the different regulations and modes of management in Member States (recruitment, training, assessment, salaries, working hours, pensions, equal opportunities etc.). The writers of this second edition (the first edition came out in 1996) aim to demonstrate the similarities and differences, as well as the different convergence processes at work. This publication will perhaps be the last of its kind to analyse the situation of the current set-up. As pointed out by the Director General of the European Institute of Public Administration, "the third edition will certainly focus on an enlarged Europe, with countries coming from a different administrative tradition and which are, indeed, in the middle of building a system of public administration". Such a development will thus make the studies of the EIPA even more crucial.
(MT)
*** ADRIAAN SCHOUT: Organisational Analysis of a Europeanisation Process. The Dutch Experience. European Institute of Public Administration (see above). Current European Issues. 2001, 55 pp. ISBN 90-6779-159-8.
What type of capabilities should Member State ministries develop to meet the priorities of EU cooperation? How has Europeanisation been prepared for and how is it being carried out? Had this process of change lead to structural /organisational changes in the ministries? This book aims to answer these questions in the light of the experience of the Dutch Economic Affairs Ministry in the 1990s.
Designed in such a manner that lessons can be generalised, the study shows that training was the most important instrument. Associate Professor at the EIPA, the author draws attention to the fact that at the end of the period of observation, not everyone had started "thinking European" because the officials had various national priorities to meet and their natural environment remained predominantly Dutch. In addition, the "European feeling" can only take root if deeper operational changes and more structured modifications are implemented. Adriaan Schout notes that decentralisation - national officials incorporating the European dimension into their work off their own backs - remains a very effective way of getting results, alongside centralised action at Ministry level.
(GC)
*** Youth Opinion. European Youth Forum. June/July 2001, No. 6, Brussels. The editorial of this issue of the European Youth Forum's newsletter (also published in French) is dedicated to the White Paper the Commission will be publishing on youth policy. The newsletter also reviews past and future conferences.
*** L'Europe en formation. Centre international de formation européenne (1à av. des Fleurs, F-06000 Nice. Tel: (33-4) 93979397 - Fax: 93979398 - E-mail: europe.formation@wanadoo.fr - Internet: http: //http://www.cife.org ). 2001, No. 321, 95 pp, 9.15 euros, 60 FF. Annual subscription: 185 FF.
In this summer issue, Prof. Ferdinand Kinsky explores the electoral impasse that Europe has often been pushed into by national politicians, while Hartmut Marhold - who will soon become the editor of this review - gives a roundup of ideas about giving Europe a Constitution. Also of note is a reply by Prof. Vlad Constantinesco to the question of whether fully-fledged federalism is simply a right-wing ideology dressing itself up as revolutionary.
(MT)
*** LUIGI FERRARI BRAVO, FRANCESCO M.DI MAJO, ALFREDO RIZZO: Carta dei diritti fondamentali dell'Unione europea. Commentata con la giurisprudenza della Corte di giustizia CE e della Corte europea dei diritti dell'uomo. Giuffrè Editore (40 via Busto Arsizio, 20151 Milan. Internet: http://www.giuffre.it ). 2001, 372 pp, 48.000 lira, 24.79 euros. ISBN 88-14-08970-1.
While recognising that the Charter of Fundamental Rights is not yet binding, Luigi Ferrari Bravo draws attention to, "the text, by way of which, the appropriate procedures will become the constitutional basis of the European Union… already the subject of judicial practice for around thirty years and having begun to develop within the work of the Luxembourg Court aimed at researching the notification of fundamental rights on which European construction is based" (at the same time as this is developing, "the judicial practices of the Strasbourg Court draws closer to that of the European Union", within the framework of the Council of Europe). Mr Ferrari Bravo asserts that, "Sooner or later, one of these two Courts will create the European Constitutional Court" and, "from that moment, judicial practices will already be established". The aim of this book is to provide help, above all, to those who are involved in the practical work of judicial practice and fundamental rights, a subject which the author acknowledges is, "an area that is still developing".
(MG)
*** GUIDO ALPA, EMILIO NICOLA BUCCICO: Il codice civile europeo. Materiale dei seminari 1999-2000. Giuffrè Editore (see above). 2001, 436 pp, 60 000 lira, 30.99 euros. ISBN 88-14-08760-1.
The essays in this volume are the end-result of two seminars organised in Rome in 1999 and 2000 by Consiglio Nazionale Forense on the project for drafting a "European Civil Code". In the introduction to his book, Remo Danovi refers to "The Europe of lawyers, rules and rights" and emphasises that the elaboration of a European Civil Code would occur within "a long-term perspective, aimed at revising the legal architecture of nation States". Emphasising the importance of, "not just thinking of the citizens of the new Europe", but also the lawyers who have the job of "carrying out the common integration of standards", he points out that at a European level, solicitors are bound by an ethical code - the European Deontological Code, approved in October 1988 and amended in November 1998 - which represents the first stage on the path to a more comprehensive code, a "deontological code for all European lawyers".
(MG)
*** Cahiers de droit européen . Etablissements Bruylant (67 rue de la Régence, B-1000 Brussels. Tel.: (32-2) 5126709 - fax: 5117202). 2001, No. 1-2, 299 pp, 52 euros, 2,098 FB. Annual subscription: 146 euros, 5,890 FB.
As usual, this edition of Cahiers de droit européen contains a number of very interesting contributions. Lawyer Marco Bronckers' editorial focuses on defending the legal systems of Member States in regulating the compatibility of European Union measures and international agreements, such as those of the WTO. A lecturer at the University of Leiden, Mr Bronckers points out that the Union does not yet resemble a federal state and, as a result, it would be "politically inconsiderate" and "legally erroneous" to suppress the law as practised in the different Member States. Other contributions include that of Peter Oliver - legal advisor at the Commission who analyses the jurisprudence of the 1990s in relation to the admissibility of interlocutory questions - and that of Professor Guy Isaac (lecturer at the Université des Sciences sociales de Toulouse) who explains that the Community pillar of the European Union is unlike any other pillar. Professor Nicolas de Sadeleer (Facultés universitaires Saint-Louis in Brussels), assesses the status of the much mentioned precautionary principle in Community law". This edition also contains the proceedings of a study day devoted to the 35th anniversary of the Cahiers, dealing with the Commission's "White Paper" on the modernisation of competition rules.
(MT)
*** The EUROPEAN COMMISSION (Official Publications Office of the European Communities, L-2985, Luxembourg) has published the following documents:
*** Info Euro. European Commission Newsletter. 2001, No. 19, 12 pp.
This issue covers the citizens' euro (the Euro Trophies awarded to five companies that have developed innovative approaches to preparing for the changeover to the single current, ideas to help shopkeepers seize the opportunity to prepare for the Euro, a supermarket that is simplifying the Euro for its customers and staff, and a CE-ROM to help very small shopkeepers), national currency replacement programmes, the Member States' communications programmes, a new tool for cross-border bank transfers of small sums in Euro, the main principles of frontloading Euro notes outside the Eurozone, and more.
*** The CAP and the Environment. DG Agriculture (Tel: (32-2) 2953240 - Fax: 2957540 - Internet: http://www.europa.eu.int/comm/agriculture/index.htm ). July/August 2001, No. 36.
"Quality in all its forms, a challenge for the CAP" was the subject of a public hearing at the European Parliament where Commissioner Franz Fischler gave an update of Community quality in agriculture policy. This publication is a report of that event.
*** Debates on Europe. EP's quarterly review. European Parliament (Press Division, Rue Wiertz, B-1047 Brussels - Internet: http: //http://www.europarl.eu.int/press/form_en.htm ). 2001, No. 1.
"Europe is awakening", "The Future of Europe", "Smoking damages Health", "More money to fight BSE": the headings of chapters in the European Parliament's new review aimed at informing citizens with a view to making them feel closer to Europe, one of the principle aims of the European Parliament that President Nicole Fontaine explains well. She writes that the EP and the Council will continue to pass legislation for the new economy at an even faster rate because it is not only a question of regulating an economic issue - the new information and communication technology will undoubtedly shape new forms of individual behaviour which will go on to shake up the organisation of modern society. The EP has the duty of taming this revolution and ensuring that greatest number of citizens benefit from it.
*** Echos de l'Europe. The European Commission's presence in Luxembourg (Jean Monnet Building, rue Alcide de Gasperi, L-2920-Luxembourg. Tel.: (352) 4301-32925 -Fax: 4301-34433. July 2001, No. 3, 12 pp.
In brief: "Towards 2004", the incorporation of directives, cancer research in the Union, strengthening the right to reside and free circulation, balance sheet of Media 2 (1996-2000), what citizens feel about the Union and life in general, the European Open Sky, biography of Louise Weiss (1893-1983) who was an intellectual activist for federal peace in Europe. The woman who chaired the inaugural session of the first European Parliament elected by universal suffrage, Europeanism, universalism and pacifism were inseparable. She expounded on these ideas in the New Europe review that she founded.
Reviews in brief
*** World Food Programme. 2000 Annual Report. Rome Despite the number of people who go to bed hungry, famine and malnutrition are no more inevitable than they are acceptable, says the Executive Director of the WFP in this Annual Report which describes the institution's activities last year in detail. *** Fedechoses. For federalism. Lyons. In brief: German President Johannes Rau's plea to the EP for a European Constitution, an appeal to French MPs to create The Friends of the European Constitution, a history of federalism based on the work by Silvio Trentin. *** Building und Wissenschaft. 2001/1, Bonn. To summarise this review from the Goethe Institut: "Education and Sciences" and "Can we learn from history?" ***Newspot. July-August 2001, Ankara. In brief: EU/Turkey Partnership, the architecture of European security and Turkey, transporting oil and the safety of shipping… *** News In Europe. 2001/2, July, Genoa This "centre-ground" review asks whether the development of the electoral college will imply political developments and what the impact on Genoa of the G8 will be. The newsletter also draws up a preliminary balance sheet of the Info Point and reports on European Socialists' debates on Civilising Globalisation.