*** SOREN DOSENRODE: Les Danois, l'Union européenne et la prochaine Présidence. Notre Europe (41 bld. des Capucines, F-75002 Paris. Tel: (33-1) 44589797 - Fax: 44589799 - E-mail: notreeurope@notre-europe.asso.fr - Internet: http: //http://www.notre-europe.asso.fr ). "Etudes et recherches" series, No 18. 2002, 47 pp.
This new Notre Europe publication from the research and study group founded and chaired by Jacques Delors has arrived just at the right moment since Denmark is now in its sixth Presidency of the European Union and many people see the Danes as mysterious and unpredictable European partners. Holding the Jean Monnet European Policy and Administration at Aalborg University since 1994, Soren Dosenrode - who also runs the University's International and Social History and Studies Institute - has written very useful educational book analysing Denmark's relations with the EU in general and the Presidency's role against this backdrop.
In the first chapters the author looks at Danish attitudes towards the European project from a historical point of view. Collective memory has not forgotten the nineteenth century that say the multicultural unit composed of Denmark, Norway and Schleswig-Holstein sadly reduced to the Denmark of today, leaving the little country at the mercy of the great powers, which in turn transmitted psychological trauma and led to Denmark, following one referendum after another, cultivating a level of Danish exceptionalism. Prof. Dosenrode notes, however, that Denmark nowadays is a full Member State, neither better nor worse than the others. But he outlines a paradox - on the one hand, public opinion that is growing to like the European Union (and is even reported to be more in favour of the EU than the EU average); and on the other hand, deep reluctance on the part of the Danes to get involved in the debate on political integration. As is explained in the second chapter, this contradiction influence's Denmark's approach to the drawing up of European policies. The vast majority of the Folketing favours strengthening European cooperation, but is immunised against making visionary plans for the future of Europe, as a result of a dose of cold feet. This observation leads Jacques Delors to point out another Danish paradox in his introduction, consisting for pro-European elates of reducing European integration to the single market, thereby feeding reluctance on behalf of some sections of Danish public opinion with regard to a project considered to be exclusively trade-based and capitalists. In the last chapter, the author looks more specifically at the Presidency's tasks. An illuminating book!
Michel Theys
*** STANLEY HENIG: Modernising Britain. Central, devolved, federal. The Federal Trust (52 Dean Bradley House, Horseferry Road, London SW1P 2AF - Internet: http: //http://www.fedtrust.co.uk ). "Governance in Europe" series. 2002, 268 pp, £16.95. ISBN 1-903403-13-8.
The book invites reflection into the changes made by the Labour government since its election, in three separate parts. The first section looks at Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales. All three have relative autonomy in different forms and with different political roots. The authors look at the three regions' raison d'être and recent changes. The second part of the book looks at major political issues that have arisen in the political and institutional life of the UK over the past few years, such as the election of a Mayor for London. Ines Newmann analyses the regionalisation process from the point of view of strengthening the European project. The third part of the book makes a comparative analysis of the EU's political life and politics in the UK, with the original idea of providing the regional view of political happenings in the EU and UK. Alex White, for example, considers the federal dimension of the European Union, assessing its potential from the Scottish point of view.
The book bears witness to the ever greater role being played by academic debate around the issue of the centralisation of institutions in the UK. The authors set out alternatives to such centralisation, daring to look the governance of the UK in the face. And of the EU too for that matter! (AD)
*** JACQUELINE HALL: Convivència in Catalonia: Languages Living Together. Fundació Jaume Bofill (324 Provença, 08037 Barcelona. Tel: (34-93) 4588700 - Fax: 4588708 - Internet: http: //http://www.fbofill.org ). 2001, 126 pp. ISBN 84-85557-55-7.
Despite 250 years of persecution, Catalan is the ninth most widely spoken language in the EU but is not an official EU working language. Since the end of Franco's regime (which abolished the official use of what he called the Catalan "dialect" to assure national unity) Catalan has gradually picked up but not without some difficulty. Although the vast majority of the inhabitants of Catalonia speak or understand it, many don't know how to write it. In this clear, simple and direct book, the author shares her love of Catalan with us, and her love of the Catalan culture that she has been studying for a long while (having lived in the region and experienced Catalan culture for two decades). The outcome is a book without many illustrations but effective and studded with explanatory documents and anecdotes and revealing documents describing changes in the language, the repression suffered by Catalan speakers, its importance nowadays in Catalan social life and the need for political and legal intervention to guarantee it has a future. (BL)
*** Revue des Affaires européennes - Law & European Affairs. Alain Mys publishing house (12 Graslei, B-9000 Ghent. Tel: (32-9) 2236471 - Fax: 2231364). 2001-2002, No 1, 123 pp, 85 euros. Subscription: 295 euros. ISBN 90-5462-452-3.
The fruit of a series of prestigious collaborations, this issue sheds light on the state of the European Union's institutional system. It arrives at the time of the launch of the Convention on the Future of Europe which will be redesigning the European institutions. The contributors shed light on a number of issues raised in the Laeken Declaration. A Director at the European Commission's Secretariat General, Paolo Ponzano, examines the Union's decision-making process. His colleague Giuseppe Ciavarini Azzi provides information about comitology, while Jörn Sack, Legal Advisor at the Commission, raises the question of the European Union's external relations from the institutional viewpoint, considering whether it is in full flood or out of breath (he answers the question in the book). Jérôme Vignon sheds light on the White Paper on European Governance, Andréa Pierucci (who also works at the Commission's Secretariat General) outlines the institutional challenge that the laws of the European Union oblige the Commission to take up while Prof. Jean Raux (Rennes University I in France) sums up with an essay on from Nice to Laeken, for a structuring approach to the constitutionalisation of the European Union. Other issues are also covered, with Joël Lebullenger for example analysing the trade measures of the ACP/EC Cotonou partnership up against the WTO rules and Jürgen Basedow studying the renationalisation of EU competition law. (AD)
*** Our Vision of Europe. Proximity, Competitiveness and Visibility. EPP-ED Group in the European Parliament (Tel: (32-2) 2842284 - Fax: 2846407 - Internet: http: //http://www.epp-ed.org ) and Garant (91 Tiensesteenweg, B-3010 Leuven). 2001, 255 pp. ISBN 90-441-1180-9.
Thirty-five European politicians (Democrats and Christian Democrats) from the biggest political grouping at the European Parliament, outline their vision of Europe in essays covering a wide range of different areas of European affairs, divided up under three headings - proximity, competitiveness and visibility (the EPP-ED's leitmotif). Without really covering new ground, the book has the merit of resuming condensed versions of the EPP-ED's ideas on various key issues in the run-up to enlargement in 2004 and reform of the institutions. It includes essays by big players like European Commissioners Michel Barnier, Franz Fischler, Mario Monti, Viviane Reding and Loyola de Palacio, various Members of the European Parliament, national politicians like the Bavarian prime minister (and challenger for the post of German Chancellor) Edmund Stoiber, and candidate country representatives like the former Bulgarian prime minister Ivan Kostov or the President of the Latvian People's Party, former prime minister Andris Šíçle. The book looks at issues like subsidiarity, transparency, the need for a Constitution to bring the European Union closer to the citizen, the issues and challenges of the new economy and the EU's support for stability, development and peace in the world. It also looks at changes in the Christian Democrat group over the last twenty-five years, describing its views on what the future may hold. (BL)
*** BLANCA VILA COSTA (Ed.): El horizonte institucional de la UE tras la Conferencia Intergubernemental (de Biarritz a Niza). Institut universitari d'estudis europeus (Universitat Autonoma de Barcelona, Edifici E-1, 08193 Bellaterra, Barcelona. Tel: (34-93) 5812016 - Fax: 5813063). "Quaderns de treball" series, No 38. 2001, 22 pp, 6.01 euros. ISBN 84-95201-09-07.
This publication is a transcription of recordings of a conference on the institutional horizons of the European Union after the last Intergovernmental Conference. Prof. Linan Nogueras gives a general introduction to the conference, followed by his French colleague Jean Raux, who says that after Nice, a structuring approach is required to the constitutionalisation of the European Union. Denise Sorasio, Director at DG Justice and Home Affairs at the European Commission, considers the Nice Treaty in the light of her speciality, competencies. Jaume Duch, official at the European Parliament's Secretariat General, looks at the general and specific functional aspects of the Charter of Fundamental Rights. Francisco Fonseca Murillo, Head of Cabinet for the Justice and Home Affairs Commissioner, divides his essay into three sections, looking at the subject matter of the Biarritz Summit, the objectives of the Charter of Fundamental Rights and the way it is being planned to incorporate fundamental rights into the Treaties. The Charter is also discussed by the President of the Socialist group at the European Parliament, Enrique Baron Crespo. (AD)
*** INN LAURSEN (Ed.): The Amsterdam Treaty. National Preference, Formation, Interstate Bargaining and Outcome. Odense University Press (55 Campusvej, DK-5230 Odense. Tel: (45-6615) 7999 - Fax: 8126 - E-mail: press@forlag.sdu.dk - Internet: http: //http://www.oup.dk ). "Odense University Studies History and Social Sciences", No 245. 2002, 655 pp. ISBN 87-7838-619-5.
This weighty volume on the Amsterdam Treaty concentrates on the negotiations that led up to the Treaty at the 1996-1997 Intergovernmental Conference. It is original in that it focuses on the attitudes adopted by the different players in the negotiations, ranging from the Commission to the Parliament via each of the Member States, each being analysed in turn. It also makes a more thematic analysis of the changes made to the three pillars. The conclusions compare and contrast dominant theories and what was actually achieved in Amsterdam. A very detailed book! (AD)
*** LUISA PASSERINI: Il mito d'Europa. Radici antiche per nuovi simboli. Giunti Gruppo Editoriale (Florence). 2002, 192 pp, 15 euros. ISBN 88-09-02468-0.
Luisa Passerini teaches twentieth century history at the University Institute of Florence and has published an enriching view of the myth of Europe, going back to sources before analysing the transformation and "modernity" of the myth, which provides her with an opportunity to mention the cultural heritage of the European continent and the expression of European identity over the centuries. Refusing to turn inwards, she always faces in the direction of other cultures. Writers and philosophers accompany the work, as do reproductions of numerous pieces of art inspired by the Phoenician princess who became the symbol of Europe, including a large number of modern works of art. (MG)
*** GIANCARLO VILELLA: Un giro per il mondo. Luoghi, quesiti et contraddizioni. Pendragon (10 via Albiroli, 40126 Bologna. Internet: http://www.pendragon.it ). 2002, 138 pp, 12 euros. ISBN 88 8342-122-1.
The pleasure with which Giancarlo Vilella wrote this book is clear to see. An official at the European Parliament in Brussels and lecturer at several European universities, he used to be Director General of the Institut international de sciences administratives. His book does not cover his professional experience, but explains the extent being open towards Europe has drawn him into contact with a wider world. The book looks at the significant steps in this "meeting with the rest of the world", dotted with exchanges with well-known or unknown characters and characterised by huge intellectual curiosity and the sincere desire to understand other people while accepting them being different. (MG)
*** JACQUES BRASSINE DE LA BUISSIERE: La régionalisation des lois communale et provinciale et de la législation connexe. Centre de recherche et d'information socio-politiques (1A place Quetelet, B-1210 Brussels. Tel: (32-2) 2110180 - Internet: http: //http://www.crisp.be ). "Courrier hebdomadaire" series, No 1751-1752. 2002, 69 pp, 12.40 euros. ISBN 0008 9664, 6.90€.
The author outlines the challenges of the regionalisation of provincial and communal laws in Belgium and the way the majority manages to make them concrete. It also looks at the components and consequences of transferring powers explaining, for example, why non-EU foreigners' right to vote was not regionalised. (AD)
*** The EUROPEAN COMMISSION (Official Publications Office of the European Communities, L-2985 Luxembourg) has published the following documents:
*** Cordis Focus. DG Enterprise (Fax: (352-4301) 32084 - E-mail: innovation@cec.eu.int - Internet: http://www.cordis.lu/news ). July 2002, No 200, 24pp.
Nobel Prize winners are calling for action to combat the decline of science in Europe and in an open letter to the Seville European Council they call on the political decision-makers to take serious, fast action in this connection. The European Parliament has adopted various reports aimed at strengthening the European Research Area, as researchers send in thousands of new ideas for research projects receiving EU funding. Commissioner Busquin calls for candidate countries to be integrated into the European structure for measurements and testing, while the Danish Presidency announces that sustainable development and food safety are two of its priorities.
*** Science et société: un Plan d'action. European Research Area. DG Research (Office SDME 06/62, B-1049 Brussels. Fax: (32-2) 2966020 - E-mail: rtd-sasap@cec.eu.int - Internet: http: //http://www.cordis.lu/science-society ). 2002.
This brochure raises the issue of how the public views the scientific world, ranging between confidence about scientific progress and concern about going too far. The science and society action plan includes measures to stop this gap between citizens and science widening, aiming to encourage exchanges of views between various stakeholders, research bodies, the media, etc, all of which will be invited to take part in the debate over the European Research Area. A detailed list of the planned activities is given under two headings: scientific policy closer to the citizen; and responsible science at the heart of defining policies.
*** Biblioteca della libertà. Centro Einaudi (4 via Ponza, I-10121 Turin. Tel: (39-11) 5591611 - Fax: 5591691 - E-mail: segreteria@centroeinaudi.it - Internet: http://www.centroeinaudi.it ). 2001, No 161. 121 pp. Subscription: 52 euros.
Looking at subsidiarity, state interests and supervising citizens (an article in which Franco Pizzeti looks at how powers can be separated off between the European Union and Member States), liberalisation policies and institutional changes in Italy, what globalisation means in terms of job markets and the welfare state, the dangerous investments made by households, the role of intermediaries, the "European supermarket", and more.
*** La revue durable. Savoirs, société, écologie, politiques publiques. Cerin (91 rue de Lausanne, 1700 Fribourg, Switzerland. Tel: (41-26) 3213710 - Fax: 3213712 - Internet: http://www.cerin.ch ). June 2002, 28 pp. Subscription: 55 euros.
Environmental issues are becoming ever more important to citizens these days but are not yet important enough. This new review takes as its starting point the alarming fact that there is a cruel lack of institutional fora, particularly magazines, where the outlines of potential sustainable societies of the future can be sketched out and designed. This review aims to become just such an arena, proposing environmental solutions. The first issue aims to assess the pertinence of the project and alongside a string of short news articles, indicators to give an idea of the issues and open forums for stakeholders, there is a dossier on electricity (on the largely untouched area of energy savings), articles on soil and an interpretation of the World Sustainable Development Summit.
*** Trialog. Les nouvelle sur l'élargissement de l'UE et les ONGD. Trialog (10 square Ambiorix, B-1000 Brussels. Tel: (32-2) 7438790 - Fax: 7321934 - trialog@clong.be - Internet: http://www.clong-trialog.at ). 2002, No 1, 8 pp.
The editorial focuses on development issues against the backdrop of EU enlargement, noting that extending communication between all co-operation and development stakeholders in an enlarged Europe is one of the essential missions of the Trialog programme. Other issues covered include the Maltese development NGO platform, how development policy is changing the Slovak Republic, Poland (which has changed from a beneficiary to a donor country), and Finnish-Estonian development co-operation.