*** Institutional reforms in the European Union. Memorandum for the Convention. EuropEos (Rome. E-mail: europeos@europeos.it - Internet: http://www.europeos.it ). 2002, 291 pp.
Whatever the final result it, the decision by heads of state at the Laeken European Council to convene a Convention to prepare for tomorrow's Europe has had a positive initial impact - launching unprecedented public debate about the issue. No doubt a few means spirits will object that most of the debate remains in expert circles that are complete au fait with the subject. But this is forgetting that in a multitude of structures a genuine citizen's awareness has been unleashed, no doubt guided by expert contributions from politicians and academia that is leading "simple citizens" to consider the type of Europe they want to see in the next few months, and what type of Europe they'd like to live in tomorrow. This is a very healthy debate, not so much as a result of the relevance of the ideas it collects and puts forward as for the fact it involves more citizens in European affairs. In order to be fruitful, it implies prior provision of points of view authorised o, terms of knowledge and understanding of European issues and challenges and it is for this purpose that this publication (along with others, they are tending to mushroom in various forms) is interesting and illustrative.
Without claiming to be comprehensive, ten Italian specialists from the EuropEos association have written well structured essays explaining various building blocks or areas that at least underlie the work being carried out by the Convention. Stefano Micossi (Senior Lecturer at the European College in Bruges) starts of by analysing the Convention's mandate, while Sabino Cassese (La Sapienza University in Rome) looks at the important and complex issue of whether a European democratic deficit actually exists, which leads him to delve into the roots of legitimacy. The same issue is investigated by Maurizio Ferrera (Pavia University and the Bocconi University in Milan), enlarging the question of powers, "competencies" to be bequeathed to the European Union and the new procedures in his view that have to be respected to be able to do this. It is also considered by Guido Tabellini (Bocconi University in Milan), looking more particularly at the issue of division of tasks based on the federal ideal and using the current situation to outlines areas of potential reform for the future. Giancinto della Cananea (Urvino University) sticks quite closely to the subject matter, outlining various procedural remedies for the "confusion of competencies". Antonio Padoa Schioppa, the old lorry driver of European policies, increases the gamut by considering (and providing possible answers) how to improve the legitimacy and efficiency of the institutions while Mario P. Chiti (Florence University) makes an in-depth analysis of the legal setup and changes that could be made to it at the time of the Convention. Andrea Manzella MP considers the Convention that he sees as a new model for drawing up a constitution while Gian Luigi Tosato (La Sapienza University in Rome) does the same from the starting point of simplifying the Treaties. "Europe for Europeans" is the title of Carlo Bastasin's essay (Deputy Editor of La Stampa) punctuating the series of essays. The book is supplemented by a review of declarations by leading politicians and the official documents that paved the way for the Convention.
Michel Theys
*** ALAIN BARRAU: La révision des traités européens par le traité de Nice. Textes comparés. Délégation pour l'Union européenne de l'Assemblée nationale (Kiosque de l'Assemblée nationale, 4 rue Aristide-Briand, F-75007 Paris. Internet: http://www.assemblee-nationale.fr ). "Les documents d'information de l'Assemblée nationale", No 3529. 2002, 265 pp, 6.50 euros. ISBN 2-11-115926-3.
A prolific author, member of the French national assembly's delegation to the European Union (which he chairs), Alain Barreau has provided a particularly useful document with this new book. Using comparative tables, he makes a parallel between the Nice Treaty - suspended awaiting the approval of the Irish - with measures currently in force from the Treaty of the European Union and the Treaty that set up the European Community. With the aim of clarifying the law, his document looks at the different amendments, and abrogations and the incorporation of new Articles. An alphabetical index makes the work more user-friendly. It is an extremely precious tool for anyone trying to find their way among the labyrinth of Articles underlying European activity.
(MT)
*** Les procédures de révision des traités communautaires: du droit international au droit constitutionnel. Bruylant (67 rue de la Régence, B-1000 Brussels. Tel: (32-2) 5129845 - Fax: 5117202 - E-mail: lib.bruylant@pophost.eunet.be - Internet: http: //http://www.bruylant.be ). 2001, 165 pp, 27 euros. ISBN 2-8027-1498-8.
This book presents the proceedings of a conference organised in October 2000 by the Centre d'Etudes européennes of Université Jean Moulin (Lyons 3). The coexistence of the Intergovernmental Conference that should have led to the Nice Treaty and France's constitutional review of the five year presidential term provided the opportunity to consider how Community Treaties evolve according to the constitutional law yardstick. Based on the experience of recent IGCs, the essay writers (all from academia) analyse the objective of providing Community institutions with the "power of power", in other
words with constituent power, and also the technical and political obstacles strewn in the path of
such a move.
(LD)
*** CARLO SANTULLI: Le statut international de l'ordre juridique. Etude du traitement du droit interne par le droit international. Editions A. Pedone (13 rue Soufflot, Paris). "Publication de la Revue Générale du Droit International Public" No 51. 2001, 540 pp, 44 euros. ISBN 2-233-00391-8.
Professor at Montesquieu-Bordeaux IV University, Carlo Santulli considers the way internal law deals with international law, an issue which is little understood, rarely well approached and seldom fully resolved. After defining the subject of study and his analytical tools, the author ends the introduction to the book by arguing that international rules concerning state law follow the principle of the "cognitive vagueness" of state law in international law and of international law in state law with state law not determining the legal products of international law and vice versa. The first part of the book looks at state law access to the international legal order with the author first considering the structure of international legal proposals that refer to state law products. He then illustrates how state law products are established in international law with the first part ending with an analysis of the logical position of state law products in the international legal order. In the second part Carlo Santulli outlines the impact of state law in the international legal order under three headings: "International legal qualities of internal origin", "International legal proposals of internal origin - the case of the obligation to make amends" and "The status of state legal products according to the international impact". This is a specialised book designed for experts.
(AD)
*** Cahiers de droit européen. Bruylant (67 rue de la Régence, B-1000 Brussels. Tel: (32-2) 5126709 - Fax: 5117202). 2001, No 5-6, 200 pp, 52 euros. Subscription: 146 euros.
Under the heading of Doctrine, Eleftheria Neframi has written an article on common trade policy according to the Nice Treaty, noting that new Article 133 provides more in the way of problems than of genuine explanations in terms of defining how state and EU powers mesh. The lecturer at Paris
XIII University argues, however, that the Nice Treaty marks progress because it allows the
Community to exercise its external power in the domain of trade in services and intellectual property,
since Member States did actually agree, no matter how reluctantly and mealy-mouthed, to devolve
this power. Jan Wouters and Bruno Van Hees make critical remarks on Community rules for state aid
and direct taxation, while in the case law section, Jules Stuyck analyses the Gourmet ruling in terms
if whether it's another loophole in the Keck jurisprudence, implying that further progress has been made in favoujr of equitable trade in products from other Member States even though the matter rests in the hands of national judges. Jan Inghelram looks at the impact of the Ismeri ruling on the European Court of Auditors, and Anne Valéry and Frédéric Louis provide a contribution to a chronicle of competition law.
(AD)
*** JEAN PAUL JACQUE: Droit institutionnel de l'Union européenne. Dalloz (31-35 rue Froidevaux, F-75685 Paris. Internet: http: //http://www.dalloz.fr - Distribution: Patrimoine, 168 rue du Noyer, B-1030 Brussels. Tel/Fax: (32-2) 7366847). "Cours Dalloz", "Droit public" series. 2001, 663 pp. ISBN 2-247-03208-7.
Professor at various universities (Robert Schuman University in Strasbourg, the European College in Bruges, the Université catholique de Louvain and the Institut d'études européennes of the l'Université libre de Bruxelles) and Director of the Legal Service at the Council's Secretariat, Jean Paul Jacqué is one of the most pre-eminent connoisseurs of the EU's institutional law, which he describes in a detailed manual outlining the institutions, the decision-making process, the legal system and political and jurisdictional control. At a time when Member States are considering the contents of a potential European Constitution at the Convention, the author highlights the basic principles for the organisation of the EU and how it actually operates. The manual includes the amendments introduced by the Nice Treaty. (AD)
*** RICHARD GHEVONTIAN: Droit communautaire. Editions Dalloz (31-35 rue Froidevaux, F-75685 Paris. Internet: http: //http://www.dalloz.fr - Distribution: Patrimoine, 168 rue du Noyer, B-1030 Brussels. Tel/Fax: (32-2) 7366847). "Aide-mémoire" series. 2001, 200 pp. ISBN 2-24704488-3.
Acting as both a basic handbook and a revision tool, the book provides a broad sweep across all the institutional and legal problems doing the rounds at the moment in the institutions. Aided by a multitude of tables, the author (Professor at the University of Aix-Marseille III) deals with the issue by dividing it into five different topics - the history and the future of the EU, the institutions of the Communities, sources of Community law, personalities in Community law and appeals. (AD)
*** LOUIS DUBOUIS, CLAUDE BLUMANN: Droit matériel de l'Union européenne. Montchrestien (31 rue Falguière, F-75741 Paris Cedex15). 2001, 603 pp, 30.5 euros. ISBN 2-7076-1257-X.
Designed for students and others wanting to learn about statutory law in the EU other than acts of parliament, the second edition of this book does not claim to provide an extremely detailed historical analysis of the Treaties or digests or any other aspect. On the contrary, it aims to make it easier to understand the basic ideas and rules of EU law, and while this is a more modest aim, it does not render the book any less useful for all that. The authors focus on five aspects - individuals, goods, services, competition and external relations. Louis Dubouis is emeritus Professor of Law, Economics and Science at Aix-Marseille. Claude Blumann is a profressor at Panthéon Assas University (Paris II) and honorary dean of law at Tours University. Clearly an enlightened overview. (AD)
*** Communauté européenne 2002-2003. Juridique, fiscal, social, comptable et financier. Editions Francis Lefebvre, (42 rue de Villiers, F-92300 Levallois - Distribution: Patrimoine, 168 rue du Noyer, B-1030 Brussels - Tel/Fax: (32-2) 736 68 47). "Mémento pratique" series. 2001, 1,624 pp. ISBN 2-85115-488-5.
This reference book reviews the three freedomsto circulate that are in force in the European Union - people, goods and capital - and their connection with the fiscal, social, accounting and financial domains. (AD)
*** JOHN VAN OUDENAREN: Uniting Europe. European integration and post-cold war world. Rowman and Littlefield Publishers (12 Hid's Copse Road, Cumnor Hill, Oxford OX2 9JJ, England - 4720 Boston Way, Lanham, Maryland 20706. - Internet: http: //http://www.rowmanlittlefield.com ). 2000, 367 p.. ISBN 0-8476-9033-4.
John Van Oudernaren covers half a century of the European project in this work, analysing chronologically and thematically the dynamic of history that was its catalyst. Much of the book is given over to the future of Europe and the multiple challenges the EU will have to face in the future. The book takes the form of an accessible and yet detailed course manual. John Van Oudernaren runs the European division of the famous Library of Congress and is a lecturer at the International Studies Faculty of John Hopkins University. Detailed and comprehensive, the book is written for a US readership, providing a highly reliable overview of the dossiers covered by European integration, past, present and future. (AD)
*** The EUROPEAN COMMISSION (Official Publications Office of the European Communities L-2985, Luxembourg, Internet: http: //publications.eu.int) has published the following document:
*** 2001 - Annual Energy Review. DG Energy and Transport (Internet: http: //europa.eu.int/ comm/energy_transport/en/etf_en.html). 2002, 264 pp, 65 euros. ISBN 92-894-3110-5.
Only available in English, the Annual Energy Review (published for the first time in 1991) marks the end of an era since the next issue will look at transport and energy together in equal measure. The 2001 Review looks at developments in the energy sector in the European Union, candidate countries, other OECD countries, the de la Commonwealth of Independent States, Africa, the Middle East, Asia and Latin America, supplemented with statistics and detailed tables.
*** La Lettre des confrontations. Confrontations (41 rue Emile Zola, F-93107 Montreuil Cedex. Tel: (33-1) 49884194 - Fax: 49881184 - E-mail: confrontations@wanadoo.fr - Internet: http://www.confrontations.org ). April-May 2002, 24 pp, 4.60 euros. Subscription: 23 euros.
This issue tells the tale of the tenth anniversary of the Confrontations association and its President, Philippe Herzog MEP calls on people to work for democratic renewal in an unsectarian manner in the light of the presidential elections where Europe was conspicuous by its absence. Other issues covered: the European Parliament putting pressure concerning regulating the energy and financial markets, funding development after the change of scene at Monterrey, a dossier on Confrontations' summer school in Budapest that will be focussing on social dialogue and involvement in the interests of integration in an enlarged Europe and Confrontations' proposals for the Convention…
*** EIB Information. European Investment Bank. (100 Bld. Konrad Adenauer, L-2950 Luxembourg. Tel: (352) 4379-1 - Fax: 437704 - E-mail: info@bei.org - Internet: http: //http://www.bei.org ). 2002,No 11, 22 pp.
In this issue of the European Investment Bank's publication, EIB President Philippe Maystadt explains that he wanted to focus on the effectiveness of the EIB and the EIF. There are also articles on EP activity concerning the EIB, the activities of the EIB group in 2001, the economics and finance conference on financial integration in an enlarged Europe and the Barcelona European Council, etc.
*** Revue du Marché commun et de l'Union européenne. Editions Techniques et Economiques (3 rue Soufflot, F-75005 Paris. Tel.: (33-1) 55426130 - Fax: 55426139 - E-mail: editecom@starnet.fr - Internet: http://www.editecom.com ). May2002, No 458, 69 pp. Subscription: 197 euros.
This prestigious magazine provides explanations about reforming network companies and public services in the light of the Barcelona mandate, with other essays looking at the stabilisation and association process for the Balkans, the Turkish legal system confronted with Community acquis (applying competition rules to public economic companies), CEECs moving in the direction of the eurozone (choosing an exchange regime), legal protection for biotech inventions, and how to make the rights of stakeholders effective in the internal market. It should be noted that the issue includes an interview with Commissioner Antonio Vitorino to boot, on cooperation in the field of justice and home affairs.
*** Politica Exterior (6 Padilla, E-28006 Madrid. Tel: (34-91) 4312628 - Fax: 5777252 - E-mail: rivista@politicaexterior.com - Internet: http: //http://www.politicaexterior.com ). May-June 2002, No 87, 206 pp, 10 euros. Subscription: 86 euros.
Most of this issue is given over to an overview of international events and democracy in the light of the failed coup d'etat in Venezuela and the French presidential elections. Other articles focus on the Spanish Presidency, Gibraltar, the Euro-Atlantic Summit, the Middle East, new Association and Cooperation Agreements on the horizon for Latin America, the US' foreign policy since S-11, the roots of prosperity in the US and the Enron bankruptcy.
*** Look Japan, April 2002, Tokyo. Covering "From knowledge to ingenuity", Expo 2005 Aichi, spaceshape architecture, the apparently infinite power of flowers on the energy front and discovering Japan by foot.