*** XAVIER MABILLE: Mémoire et histoire. Centre de Recherche et d'Information Socio-Politiques (1A place Quetelet, B-1210 Brussels. Tel: (32-2) 2110180). "Dossiers du Crisp" series, No 55. 2002, 20 pp, 6.20 euros. ISBN 2-87075076-5.
Xavier Mabille is known and recognised as one of the best analysts of the Belgian political setup. This "CRISP" dossier bears witness and confirms that its horizon is not limited to the borders of the tiny kingdom of Belgium, nestling in the heart of the European Union. Taking as its starting point the statement that both world wars that tore the twentieth century apart raised the general problem of the relationship between memory and history, quite apart from the profound mark they left in individual and collective memories, the author attempts to explain the complex nature of the relationship and assess the political, pedagogic and media challenges of the hisotrical culture whose need is making itself felt, particularly against the backdrop of the European project, where the image that each country portrays of itself can be a throw-back to an era when nationalism ripped the continent apart.
First of all, Xavier Mabille outlines the rather vague frontiers separating the memory of testing moments and history, observing that living experience is one part of memory, but what constitutes the irreplaceable characteristic of eye witness reports also, inevitably, outlines the limits, which is why most historians these days (unlike in the past) believe they have to take a step back when looking at events if they are to attempt to write the history of them. He then reviews the traps, unknown quantities and other alterations, whether voluntary (negationism, fascination or hackneying of the past) or involuntary that form a permanent challenge for history.
In the third part, the author specifically touches on this question against a European backdrop. While the memory of successive generations in the countries of Europe was one of waiting for the next war to occur along the same lines as previous conflicts, he argues straight off that there is a need today, irrespective of how the European Union's institutions develop, for a genuine historical culture. A history of Europe "that remains to be written" and can't be written by simply adding on the history of different nations in a juxtaposition characterised simply by compromises where everyone wipes out parts that others don't like. On the contrary, argues the author, it is for each and every country to recall their share in the collective responsibility of the body they are part of and to this end, he usefully points out that the internal structure of Europe was not simply composed of territorial and dynastic building blocks, but also follows economic, social and cultural dynamics that cock a hoot at state boundaries. All writing of history that puts the emphasis on tracing lines through time, he asserts, is an obstacle to peace. He goes on that the recognition of the multiple movements, in the media and in education, is a challenge for the future. The way the author sees it, historical culture now has to include an ethic of responsibility and be structured through a programme composed of democracy, the rule of law and peace. In other words, a programme whereby no country in the world would be able to lecture to others. Xavier Mabille adds to his anguished and relevant appeal that if such a culture is not created, traps and changes in memory will continue to encourage the reappearance, resurgence and growth of anti-democratic tendencies as recent elections have proved in several European countries. Food for thought!
Michel Theys
*** GENEVIEVE DUCHENNE: Visions et projets belges pour l'Europe. De la Belle Epoque aux Traités de Rome (1900-1957). P.I.E.-Peter Lang (Internet: http://www.peterlang.net ). "Euroclio" series, No 22. 2001, 283 pp. ISBN: 90-5201-963-0
With the passing of time, there has been a mushrooming of books and collections of essays concerning ideological milieus and projects covering the political, economic, social and cultural organisation of Europe. Belgium has not been left behind in this. Geneviève Duchenne has been an archaeologist, revealing forgotten or little known writings. This book takes the form of a collection of thirty-five selected essays displaying a highly remarkable level of variety since the author did not limit herself to selecting convinced Europeans and supporters of a democratic Europe. The essays are divided into five sections in chronological order. The first part includes writings concerning the period before the end of the First World War under the heading, The Idea of Europe at the Dawn of the Twentieth Century. The second part is made up of texts published in the 20s when the idea of a United Europe blossomed. The third part on the idea going adrift in the 1930s, looking at the Great Depression and the rise of extremism. The penultimate part follows on from the third, covering the Second World War under the heading, From German Europe to the Birth of a New Europe. As Professor Michel Dumoulin explains in his introduction, while Europe was living under the boot and the European idea was used to fight Bolshevism, plutocracy, international Jewry and Anglo-Saxon capitalism, other ideas of Europe, its future and its necessary organisation prevailed in the Resistance and among Belgian exiles in London and the United States. In the fifth and final part, Europe constructing itself in the gap between the US and the USSR, an effort is made to give significant examples from often very strongly argued points of view with regard to the demands of the moment and what has to be constructed in order for Europe to be able to live in peace and prosperity. The originality of this book lies in its approach. Rather than aiming to go over history to explain or rediscover it, it aims to relive history through its primary sources.
(AD)
*** NANCY BERMEO, PHILIP NORD (Ed.): Civil Society before Democracy. Rowman & Littlefield Publishers (4720 Boston Way, Lanham, Maryland 20706. Tel: (1-800) 4626420 - Internet: http://www.rowmanmottlefield.com ). 2000, 277 pp. ISBN 0-8476-9550-6.
Civil society is a vague concept that with the aid of the Convention is becoming an important challenge in the European context. This US book bringing together the writings of historians and political commentators from Europe and the United States has the merit of reminding us that civil society is not a new idea since it had a big role to play in shaping European democracies in the nineteenth century. This intelligent sampling of the history of European countries also shows us that civil society is not necessarily synonymous with democracy…
(MT)
*** GRAHAM WATSON (Ed.): 2020 Vision. Liberalism and Globalisation. Centre for Reform (Dean Bradley House, 52 Horseferry Road, London, SW1P 2AF. Tel: (44-020) 72225121 - Fax: 72225185 - E-mail: info@cfr.org.uk - Internet: http://www.cfr.org.uk ). 2001, 109 pp, £8.99, 15 euros. ISBN 1-902622-26-X.
British Liberal MEP Graham Watson has selected essays for this book that reflect various national perspectives on the challenges of governance in a world where countries are interconnected, and where "globalisation" is becoming ever more controversial. Each of the ten essays by Liberal politicians looks at globalisation through the prism of liberal philosophy, seeing whether and how it offers good solutions to modern day challenges.
(LD)
*** JEAN-JACQUES GABAS, PHILIPPE HUGON, ETIENNE LEROY, FRANCOIS LILLE, CHRISTIAN MARTY, FRANCOIS-XAVIER VERSCHAVE, ANNIE VINOKUR: Biens publics à l'échelle mondiale. Colophon Editions (25 rue Gratès, B-1170 Brussels. Tel: (32-2) 6758156 - Fax: 6758327). "Essais" series. 2001, 135 pp. ISBN 2-930254-07-6.
While nobody these days thinks of refusing access to public goods to anyone, one still has to note that this does not actually mean that everybody actually has access to healthcare, education, clean water and other equally vital consumer goods. This selection of essays by "Consortium 6 novembre" members takes this situation as its starting point. The consortium aims to listen to society's stakeholders attempting to achieve greater justice and solidarity in North-South relations. They consider public goods on the global scale, therefore also considering Europe. The book is divided into three parts. The first reveals the lack of utopia in the plan to develop public goods on the global scale, while the second suggests a redefinition of the idea of "public good", and in the third, one of the contributors summarises the problems surrounding global public goods and outlines an approach to the future of public goods.
(AD)
*** ULF FRIEDRICH RENZENBRINK: Gemeinschaftshaftung und mitgliedstaatliche Rechtsbehelfe. Vorrang, Subsidiarität oder Gleichstufigkeit? Peter Lang (15 Jupiterstrasse, CH-3000 Berne 15. Tel/fax: (41-31) 9402131 - E-mail: info@peterlang.com). "Europäische Hochschulschriften" series, No 3061. 2000, 201 pp. ISBN 3-631-37528-X.
This book is based on a doctoral thesis for Hamburg University, in which a young German lawyer looks at legal issues surrounding civil liability and the implementation of Community law by the Member States. After outlining the different types of problems and where they arise from, he goes into various ways of using the law, concluding through the theory of useful effect and the Francovich ruling that there is no legal hierarchy between appeals under national law and appeals under Community law. The book is designed for legal specialists.
(PB)
*** BENOIT MERKT: Harmonisation internationale et entraide administrative internationale en droit de la concurrence. Droit du GATT/OMC, droit européen, accords bilatéraux et perspectives pour le droit suisse. Peter Lang (see above). "Etudes en droit économique mondial" series, No 3. 2000, 450 pp. ISBN 3-906765-76-8.
This book by a young Swiss lawyer looks at international administrative co-operation in the field of competition law. Benoît Merkt takes as his starting point the fact that competition law is concentrated at the beginning of the 21st century in national and regional laws with regulation at international level remaining few and far between. Given the globalisation of the economy, restrictions on competition ever more frequently take an international dimension and have an impact in several countries. Feeling that greater international co-operation between competition authorities is vital, the author suggests that the multilateral trading system be supplemented by binding legislation covering international administrative co-operation in the field of competition law and outlawing the competition restrictions that are the most damaging to the economy - export cartels and unjustifiable agreements.
(LD)
*** PATRICK THIEL: Mémento des marches publics. Editions Kluwer (326 av. Louise, box 56, B-1050 Brussels. Tel: (32-800) 16868 - Fax: (32-2) 3003003 - E-mail: customer@editionskluwer.be). 2001, 475 pp. ISBN 90-5062-466-9.
Written by a lawyer specialising in this area, this handbook clearly and concretely outlines basic information about public tendering, providing all the information authorities need in order to publish bids and provide bidders with useful information about how to submit theirs tenders. In the first part of the book Patrick Thiel systematically examines principles underlying public tendering and goes over recent case law. He pays particular attention to the Court of Justice's case law since the influence of the Community is increasing here. In the second part, he looks at instruments covering public tenders in Belgium. Real case scenarios are supplemented by useful comments. The book is a very practical working tool that will be regularly updated.
(LD)
*** CLAUDE LAMBERTS, JEAN-JACQUES WILLEMS (Ed.): Les Codes Larcier. Larcier (39 rue des Minimes, B-1000 Brussels. Circulatoin: Accès+, 4 Fond Jean-Pâques, B-1348 Louvain-la-Neuve. Tel: (32-10) 482586 - Fax: 482519 - E-mail: acces+cde@deboeck.be - Internet: http: //http://www.larcier.be ). 2001, 799 euros (book), 800 euros (CD-ROM). ISBN 2-8044-0757-8.
This new edition of the Codes Larcier - incorporating all the standard measures used in Belgium: federal, community and regional legislation and relevant European legislation - was completely rehashed on 1 January 2001. It forms seven volumes of nearly 9,000 big pages, supplemented by chronological and analytical tables in a separate volume that is updated every six months. Legislation is broken down as follows: civil and judicial law, criminal law, company, economic and financial law, social law, tax law, public and administrative law and environment law. The reference texts are supplemented with numerous counter-references, notes from case law and other useful notes in order to enlighten the reader in their research. These Codes are also available on CD-ROMs that are updated every six months. They provide an exhaustive selection of texts in response to multi-criteria queries.
(MT)
*** The EUROPEAN COMMISSION (Official Publications Office of the European Communities, L-2985 Luxembourg) has published the following document:
*** Le Courrier. Le magazine de la coopération au développement ACP-UE. DG Development (Fax: (32-2) 2993002 - Internet: http: europa.eu.int/comm/development/publicat/courier). March-April 2002, No 191, 68pp.
This issue includes a dossier on funding development divided into the following sections: The EU calls for serious commitments to combat poverty; calling for a world conference on solidarity, funding development without interference; an interview with Paul Collier, co-author of the World Bank report on globalisation and growth; the NGOs' view of the international conference on funding development; how trade helps fund development; the EIB and the Cotonou investment facility; the debt burden in Sub-Sahara Africa; priorities for the provision of national resources; whether world public goods will change the situation; thoughts on the Tobin Tax; and a report on Mauritania.
*** Liaisons sociales Europe. Groupe Liaisons (1 av. Edouard-Belin, F-92500 Rueil-Malmaison. Tel: (33-1) 41299991 - Fax: 299670 - Internet: http: //http://www.liaisons-sociales .com). March-April 2002, No 52, 8 pp, 25 euros. Subscription: 506 euros.
The first page of this issue focuses on the Commission's process of taking a new look at Europe's approach to health and safety at work, proposing strategic guidelines to improve working conditions and the quality of employment, noting that the Communication on adapting to changes in health and safety rules from 2002-2006 aims to be a true roadmap. Other areas covered include the upcoming statue for European co-operatives, the end of the first round of consultations on restructuring in European social dialogue, the submission of the report on industrial relations and the second part of the dossier on collective bargaining, the law and the preparation of special standards.
*** Actualités. European Agency for Safety and Health at Work (33 Gran Via, 48009 Bilbao. Tel: (34) 9447960 - Fax: 944794383 - E-mail: information@osha.eu.int - Internet: http: //europe.osha.eu.int). 2002, No 10, 15 pp.
This issue outlines current events at the Agency that awards grants to reduce the incidence of accidents in SMEs as part of a programme to meet the challenge of meeting the challenge of avoiding all accidents, and also includes a multitude of other information (most of which with links to internet sites) at national, European and international level.
*** OECD Observer. OECD (2 rue André Pascal, F-75777 Paris cedex 16. Tel: (33-1) 45248200 - Fax: 45248210 - E-mail: observer@ocde.org - Internet: http: //http://www.observateurocde.org ). January 2002, No 230, 56 pp. Subscription: 43 euros.
The editorial by Donald J. Johnston, OECD Secretary General, with the title "Taxation and Growth" introduces a special dossier on taxation (looking at taxation and globalisation, the truth about tax burdens, taxing e-commerce, taxing labour, green taxes, taxing benefits, taxation in cyberspace, the tax system in the US, the lessons of 2001 in terms of budgetary policy, combating damaging taxation practices, etc). There is also an article on the challenge of the euro, explaining that successful changeover to euro notes and coins is not a guarantee of economic success, since this depends on the implementation of structural reforms and completing the single European market.
Reviews in brief
*** Défense environnement Bruxelles. January-February-March 2002. Brussels. This publication for activists calls for resistance against the incinerator project in Drogenbos and describes various alternative energies… *** Paneuropa Deutschland. 2002. Munich. This view compares and contrasts the viewpoints of Jacques Chirac and Lionel Jospin on Europe and devotes a long article to twenty-four years of the Paneuropa movement founded by Count Richard Coudenhove-Kalergi. *** Carrefour de l'économie. 2002, No 2/A. Brussels. This newsletter from the Belgian economics ministry looks at the economic budget for 2002, the Community Patent for Europe, the monitoring centre for internet rights and the Belgian economy on the Internet.