*** FRANKLIN DEHOUSSE: Le Traité de Nice et la déclaration de Laeken. Centre de recherche et d'information socio-politiques (1A place Quetelet, B-1210 Brussels. Tel: (32-2) 2110180 - E-mail: crisp@cfwb.be - Internet: http://www.crisp.be ). "Courrier hebdomadaire" series, No 1735. 2001,44 pp, 6.82 euros.
Sickly at birth, the Nice Treaty has already given rise to reams of conjecture of a gloomy, extremely gloomy nature. Hardly very … pleasant for the people who designed and adopted the Treaty. The writings of Franklin Dehousse in this issue of the CRISP's Courrier hebdomadaire is of the same ilk, except that the writer (who frank speaking is renowned) is an authorised specialist in the European institutional structures. An expert who is not content to simply comment from his ivory tower, but who also rolls up his sleeves at times and gets down to work, providing legal advice to the Belgian government, for example during the last Presidency.
What does Dehousse say? That Europe is in deadlock with regard to enlargement between the Nice Treaty and the Laeken Declaration. He makes this assessment at the end of an in-depth examination of the Nice Treaty, looking at everything - how the negotiations were organised, the Amsterdam leftovers, the strengthened cooperation mechanism and the European jurisdiction system, human rights, the European Union's foreign relations, including trade policy and internal security. Above all, Declaration No. 23 annexed to the Treaty that led one year later to the adoption of the Declaration, but which the author sees as the worm in the growing fruit. Why? Because the four issues selected to be addressed by the next Intergovernmental Conference (more detailed outlining of powers, status of the Charter of Fundamental Rights, simplifying the Treaties and the role of national parliaments) were defined in a restricted way - in terms of powers, the regions are not mentioned; the Charter is the one proclaimed in Nice which can exclude future work on substantive measures; changing the direction of the Treaties has been ruled out, which sharply limits the scope of the exercise… Even worse, two of the subjects have a potentially backward nature - examining power sharing "announces the desire to send various Community powers back to Member States … or to restrict the Institutions' capacity for initiative", whereas the promotion of national parliaments "is the expression of some people's desire to further restrain the Union's initiatives and weaken the European Parliament ".
Phew, at least there was the Laeken Declaration after the Nice Treaty… Well, no! As far as Dehousse is concerned, even though the Declaration greatly extended the subject areas submitted to the Convention, it addresses the four original subjects in an uneven and often damaging way as far as European integration is concerned. The author argues that the greatest attention was paid to the themes that are the most damaging for European integration (defining powers and, most importantly, the role of parliaments). In this sense, the Laeken Declaration is a fitting offspring of the Nice Treaty that was a turning point in the European project that saw the negative aspects dominate the positive for the first time as far as integration is concerned. Will the Convention Members have the courage to show Franklin Dehousse that evil can give rise to good?
Michel Theys
*** Revue française de sciences politiques. L'Union européenne, une démocratie diffuse ? Presses de Sciences Po (44 rue du Four, F-75006 Paris. Tel: (33-1) 44393960 - E-mail: rfsp@presses.sciences-po.fr). December 2001, 117 pp. Subscription: 76 euros. ISBN 2-7246-2902-7
As its title indicates, this edition of the French political science magazine poses a question that in these difficult times, is of particular importance: does the European Union lead to a more diffuse kind of democracy? Six scientists come together to attempt to answer this question. Among them, Paul Magnette analyses the political role of the Ombudsman within the Union, that is controlled by politicians and the State of Law. Olivier Costa is interested in the Court of Justice and its role in the democratic control of the Union through opening it up to its citizens. This leads him to note that: "The European Union creates little contact with its citizens. Its legitimisation is still essentially procedural". He uses this angle in one of the debates that is currently raging in the institutions , whether to set up a mechanism for "legal citizenship" in which the Court of Justice, as a vector for change, would instigate it. Nicolas Jabko applies the same kind of analysis when scrutinising the European Central Bank. In a joint article on the contributors tackle the subject of diffusion control mechanisms in the Union. Their conclusion leads directly to another question: "
Are we heading to Another kind of democracy? Another question that has never been so burning…
(AD)
*** EUROPE 2004, le grand débat. Setting the Agenda and Outlining the Options. European Commission (Education and Culture Directorate General, B-1049 Brussels. Tel: (32-2) 2991111 - Fax: 2999205 - Internet: http: //http://www.europa.eu.int/comm/dgs/education_culture ). 2002, 244 pp.
This is a collection of articles by various scientists who took part in a conference organised by the European Commission last October in partnership with Action Jean Monnet. It demonstrates the Institutions' desire to widely consult academia ahead of the Laeken Declaration that was intended launch the Europe of the future. The conference examined three issues: "EUROPE 2004: the great debate", "Europe's constitution" and "Governance in Europe", which were each divided into several parts, assessed by various university professors. The second theme was split, for example, into three parts - constitutional architecture, a new look at ways of sharing and monitoring the European Union's powers, and human rights in the Charter of Fundamental Rights and beyond. The third topic is divided into two sections on the White Paper and the future of European governance and beyond the White Paper, institutional models for a twenty-seven member European Union. It is clear that this book gives a useful explanation of the challenges facing the Convention…
(AD)
*** XXV Cosac. Parlement fédéral de Belgique (Rue de la Loi, B-1000 Brussels).2002, 134 pp.
This magazine sums up (in French and English) debates that took place last October in Brussels during the twenty-fifth Conference of bodies specialising in Community affairs (Cosac) under the Belgian Presidency. The themes tackled on this occasion by Belgian Ministers included the future of the Union, "employment, the European social model and WTO negotiations", food safety and sustainable development, as well as joint immigration and asylum policy. Frequent contributions by Cosac members were made throughout the conference.
(MT)
*** GERARD FUCHS: Les services d'intérêt général: un pilier de la citoyenneté européenne. Assemblée nationale (Kiosque de l'Assemblée nationale, 4 rue Aristide-Briand, F-75007 Paris. Internet: http: //http://www.assemblee-nationale.fr ). "Les documents d'information de l'Assemblée nationale" series, No 3141. 2001, 164 pp, 4.57 euros. ISBN 2-11-115401-6.
This information report by the French National Assembly's delegation for the European Union takes as its general theme public service in France and the European Union. In the introduction, the report's author, Socialist MP Gérard Fuchs, hails the adoption by the European Council at Nice of a declaration affirming the irreplaceable role of services of general economic interest. No more than twelve lines further down the page, however, the author changes tack, writing that one is justified in asking whether the declaration by the European Council at Nice will, in and of itself, suffice to prevent a double dead-end in the future which we have too often been confronted with in the past. He sees this blind alley as being connected with the Commission's policy of full or partial liberalisation of sections of the economy and also hostile reactions in France from various sections of society. The report examines this double dead-end from three different angles. The first looks at the raison d'être of services of general interest, distinguishing between aims and means. The second examines the continual sapping that public services have been subjected to by the liberalisation process since the entry into force of the act of Union. The third part addresses the substance and scope of new legislation that the report's author would like the European Union to adopt without delay.
(AD)
*** Jahrbuch des Föderalismus 2000 & 2001. Föderalismus, Subsidiarität und Regionen in Europa. Nomos Verlagsgesellschaft (76520 Baden Baden). "Europäisches Zentrum für Föderalismus-Forschung Tübingen" series, Nos. 1 and 2. 2000 and 2001, 597 and 543 pp. ISBN 3-7890-6621-4 and 3-7890-7288-5.
At the moment the debate on territorial structure (decentralisation, regionalisation, federalisation) occupies a place that is increasingly important insofar as States are convinced that centralisation does not guarantee the same democratic legitimacy. Even in countries that already have a federal structure, it is often under threat. In the perspective of enlargement, it is the political and legal forms, as well as the quality of the territorial structure that is in the forefront of the discussion, including the question of the principle of subsidiarity. The dynamic development as territorial structures is undeniably accompanied by the growth in the importance of the regions, in their role as actors in a national and supranational context. It is in this context that the "European Research Centre on Federalism" at the University of Tübingen launched this annual directory which covers a fairly wide range of subjects - political, administration, science and research, teaching and study - with the goal of offering an overall and reliable view as possible of the different aspects of policies and federal and regional structures, the notion of federalism being understood as the principle here for the organisation not just of federal States but also for the different non-centralised territorial structural forms.
Volume I goes beyond the reference period in order to constitute a basis for examining the larger volumes that follow. The directory contains seven sections of contributions from approximately thirty academic experts who cover policy, research, German federalism, European countries (non-Union and Union), third countries, regional co-operation in Europe, the Union and European integration.
The second volume in the directory deals with the same structure divided into seven sections. In the "reports on the European States", Portugal appears for the first time, while the most recent developments in federalism in the USA are analysed in the section on "non-European reports". Within the framework of regional co-operation, particular aspects of borough co-operation in town activities are also tackled.
(CB)
*** Storia, Politica, Societa. Quaderni di Scienze Umane. Lindau (direzione, redazione e aminsistrazione: 12 via Principe Amedeo, Turin). 2001, No 2, 159 pp.
This rather "new" magazine from the Popular University of Turin deals with the different themes that figure in "attempts and confrontations", "studies and research", "considerations and lectures", "university and society" and "Civic Europe". Another subject tackled is "freedom and power in federalism and autonomy", Xavier Trias i Vidal de Llobatera examines the issue of the, "autonomous status of Catalonia" and "twenty years of self-government construction ", while Francesco Margiocco presents the post-war Austrian political system up until Haider. The role of NATO, the war in Yugoslavia, post-Socialist transition and globalisation in the Moldavia Republic are also subjects for discussion.
(CB)
*** CHRISTIAN D. DE FOULOY, BRUNO GOSSELIN: The Professional Lobbyist's Desk Reference. Gateway Publishing International (92/94 square Eugène Plasky, B-1030 Brussels. Tel: (32-2) 7344969 - fax: 7367566 - E-mail: christian.defouloy@chello.be - Internet: http://www.lobbying-europe.com ). "Political Management" series. 2001, 299 pp, 123 euros (Belgium), 129 euros (EU) or 142 euros (elsewhere). ISBN 2-930313-01-3.
Written by two figures from the lobbying world, this professional lobbyist dictionary (a French version also exists) is useful in clarifying some of the language employed in this milieu. It provides more than 400 definitions presented in alphabetical order, covering all aspects of institutional relations (government relations, public affairs, logistics, influencing techniques, legislative and media action etc.). The reader will also find a description of the main communication strategies, an index listing all the French lobbying consultancies, a list of French government European and international web-sites of each Member State in the Union, as well as an index of political parties and French trade union centres etc.
(MT)
*** Liaisons sociales Europe. Tel: (33-1) 41 2999 91, Internet: http: //http://www.liaisons-sociales.com .
In the contents of issue 54 (12 pp): the selective opening of the EU's borders, transnational powers in the European works council and à la carte immigration in Germany.
*** The EUROPEAN COMMISSION (Official Publications Office of the European Communities, L-2985, Luxembourg) has published the following documents:
*** RDT Info. DG Research (Fax: (32-2) 2958220 - E-mail: research@cec.eu.int). April 2002, No 33, 40 pp.
The editorial of this issue looks at the question of whether science transcends laws. At a time when several Member States are authorising the import or production of human stem cells, ethical issues have some difficulty making themselves heard, notes the review, stressing that the Commission is going against the trend in this connection by launching a European dialogue whose results will be relayed, extended and consolidated at national level. The rest of the publication focuses on cancer (which has become a top European priority) and effective use of mathematics and oceanography.
*** Cordis focus. DG Enterprise (Fax: (352-4301) 32084 - E-mail: innovation@cec.eu.int - Internet: http://www.cordis.lu/news ). 22 April 2002, No 195, 27 pp.
The publication draws attention to the fact that Commissioner Liikanen is proposing a new approach to innovation. It then explains that bringing FP6 onstream is not an easy matter since, as Peter Kind, Director of the EER Directorate explains, it amounts to a changed concept from FP5 with its "new instruments" and because the Commission wants to deal with the issue of too many proposals. The publication also looks at the ever greater international support for clinical research in Africa.
*** Actualité des Services Publics en Europe. Editions ASPE Europe (36 rue de Laborde, F-75008 Paris. Fax: (33-1) 43876891 - E-mail: aspe@club-internet.fr). April 2002, No 2, 16 pp. Subscription: 490 euros.
The heading mentions the "balanced results" of Barcelona, but this issue focuses on the question of whether trans-European transport networks should reflect practical market needs, with Philip Bradbourn MEP providing the outline of an answer. Other issues covered include a dossier on Galileo, a debate over whether a French telecommunications market should be set up, the Kyoto Protocol ratified by the EU and rejected by the US, the current internet protocol that is allegedly obsolete, the entry into force of the provisional measure for cross-border charging for electricity, the universal postal service that will not be stepped up in Switzerland and the new White Paper on energy policy to be published in the UK in the autumn.
*** Courrier de la Planete. Solagral (Parc scientifique Agropolis, building 14, F-34397 Montpellier cedex 5. Tel: (33-4) 99232280 - E-mail: solagral.mpl@solagral.asso.fr - Internet: http://www.solagral.org ). 2001, No 66, 72 pp, 6.10 euros.
"Mondialisation: jouer la carte urbaine" (Globalisation, playing the urban card) is the subject of this issue of the well known environmental publication, that starts off by pointing out that there are too many towns and not enough cities. The city-globalisation connection is an old one, but the system has now been extended and cities (and also towns to a lesser extent) attract capital, a change that attracts social movements. This means that current globalisation also leads to a formidable demand for democracy. Other areas covered include the threat of monstropoly, a look at neighbourhoods, the legally excluded and the global agenda.
*** Opinion jeunesse. Youth Forum Jeunesse (120 rue Joseph II, 1000 Brussels). 2002, No 1, 15 pp.
The White Paper on Youth is "rather too white" according to this publication. Youth organisations are not fully satisfied with the new framework for youth policy that they slam for lack of ambition. They basically feel that it is astonishing that despite their being the instigators of the values of European integration, there is absolutely no mention of European youth organisations in the White Paper.
Reviews in brief
*** The CEPII Newsletter. Winter 2001/2002, No 16. Paris. This issue of the Centre d'études prospectives et d'informations internationales' magazine analyses the connections between trade and monetary union with various studies showing that exchange rate volatility has negative impact on the volume of both domestic and foreign direct investment. *** Panoramica Latinoamericana. April-May 2002, No 8. Brussels. This magazine looks at current affairs in Latin America.