*** THIERRY DE MONTBRIAL, KARL KAISER (Ed.): La France, l'Europe et l'Allemagne. Institut français des relations internationales (27 rue de la Procession, F-75740 Paris. Tel: (33-1) 40616000 - Internet: http://www.ifri.org ). 2003, 53 pp, 8 euros. ISBN 2-86592-143-3
Relying on Benelux countries, it has to be admitted that "the Franco-German partnership has been the engine of the European project since the beginning". And even though the George Bush Administration is playing at being involuntary mechanics mending the Franco-German engine, many still live in nostalgia for these two powers in partnership. Put differently, "in recent years, France and Germany have not fulfilled their role as engine of Europe, at a time when initiatives would have been more important than ever for meeting the challenges of enlargement of the European Union to the East". But all the same, "the Franco-German relationship retains its strategic importance in Europe". Recent negotiations over the review of the Common Agricultural Policy provide an example of this.
At this stage in proceedings, while it is clear that the European project will not be realised only with the Franco-German couple, it is inconceivable without them. This publication attempts to answer five essential questions in this connection. This issue is the first of a series which will offer readers, once every six months, with ideas about the role "that the Franco-German tandem can and should play in an enlarged Europe". The authors first look at reform of the institutions: "How the decision-making processes and bodies should be reformed to ensure their capacity to act, their democratic legitimacy and transparency, ensuring they remain valid after enlargement to 27 Member States". Then, faced with funding of the EU that appears to be becoming more and more lopsided, the authors ask "how the consequences of enlargement on the funding of common policies, particularly the Agricultural and Structural Policies and the EU's budget can be dealt with in the long-term, moving beyond the insufficient Franco-German Brussels compromise". This question leads to another, concerning economic governance. In a concise yet detailed essay, the book looks at the problem of ensuring the euro's stability, hence considering the delicate alchemy of coordinating national economic policies. It is argued, for example, that it is possible to "strengthen economic coordination in the direction of greater differentiation between countries in the eurozone". A subject that is omnipresent on the world scene, but tragically absent from the EU arena, foreign and security policy is the next issue to be considered. There is a gaping hole separating citizens' enthusiasm from the lack of political will revealed in practice by some Member States, and there are problems at times (which can clearly be overcome but exist all the same) in terms of technological and institutional structures. The final topic considered is the role that the Franco-German engine should play in managing Europe's borders: "Can and should the Union enlarge still further, and what should be its relations with the surrounding regions, particularly with countries that are unlikely to join the EU in the near future?" The utility of this publication is inversely proportionate to its size. Short, clear and detailed, it makes essential reading for the widest readership.
Alain Dremière
*** La revue des questions allemandes. Quarantième anniversaire du traité de l'Elysée, analyses et témoignages. Documents (50 rue Laborde, F-75008 Paris. Tel: (33-1) 43879040 - Fax: 42935094). 2003, n° 1, 144 p., 9,15 euros.
On 22 and 23 January 2003, France and Germany jointly celebrated the fortieth anniversary of the signature of the Elysee Treaty. To quote the joint statement by Gerhard Schröder and Jacques Chirac, with the Treaty their two predecessors "signed and sealed reconciliation between France and Germany and launched a new era of unprecedented cooperation" between the two countries. For that reason, this review has dedicated this issue to analysis and eye-witness accounts. Fifty or so articles are published, divided into seven themes, including "the Treaty in history", "areas of cooperation", "East Germans" and "Alsace-Lorraine". (AD)
*** HANS-GEORG EHRHART: Quel modèle pour la PESC ? Institut d'études de sécurité de l'Union européenne (43 av. du Président Wilson, F-67000 Strasbourg. Tel: (33-1) 56891930 - Fax: 56891931 - E-mail: institute@iss-eu.org - Internet: http://www.iss-eu.org ). "Cahiers de Chaillot", No. 55. 2002, 79 pp, 6 euros.
A Eurobarometer survey in 2001 showed that public opinion generally supported the development of the CFSP, including its defence wing. This is was an apparent paradox since at the time European integration was suffering from a lack of popularity or at least confirmed scepticism on the part of its citizens. In the wording of the Laeken Declaration, the Convention is responsible for "ensuring the broadest possible and most transparent preparation of the upcoming Intergovernmental Conference". Although the CFSP and CSDP were barely mentioned in the Declaration, the Convention is spending time on them, or rather was spending some of its time. Because the US-Iraq crisis and the divergent positions taken by the Member States in this connection have led to discussions being suspended. The "game's over" in the words of one commentator. The bell has rung, another would say, and the children are letting off steam in the chaos of the school playground. Diplomatic cacophony has made the issues raised in the Eurobarometer out of the class room. Convention Members could well find inspiration in this fine book in which the author provides an original reflection on the CFSP, which he sees as being at the mid-point of two paradigms which have long structured the debate, namely Europe as a geographical area and Europe as a power. The author starts by tracing out the scope of the debate that should surround the CFSP and CSDP. Broadly, he raises the question of the role the European Union should aspire to play on the world security scene. "What role is the military likely to play in managing international crises? What other instruments are needed to prevent and manage crises?" Questions which lead Hans-Georg Ehrhart to consider the role of the EU not from the viewpoint of the various Member States but from the structural and operational standpoint. So he starts off by quickly analysing the various possible models for the European Union. A power he describes as civilian, military and prescriptive. He then considers the "impact of the new international set-up on future security challenges". The author is researcher and deputy head of department with responsibility for European security at Hamburg University's Institute for Peace and Security Policy. The book is based on the idea of the "cooperative security" identity that European defence should adopt and that the author describes throughout the book. As a player in the field of cooperative security, the European Union could deal with the "extreme complexity of violent conflict in our post-international era". In fact, we even witness democratic institutions being trampled underfoot by one of their members on the pretext that its neighbour may possibly be entertaining the idea of potentially preparing to do the same thing. (AD)
*** L'Europe en formation. Les Cahiers du fédéralisme. Centre international de formation européenne (Cife, 10 av. des Fleurs, F-06000 Nice. Tel: (33-4) 93979397 - Fax: 93979398 - E-mail: europe.formation@ wanadoo.fr - Internet: http: //http://www.cife.org ). 2002, No. 2, 155 pp. Annual subscription: 30 euros.
The last issue in 2002 of the publication launched by Alexander Marc and edited by Hartmut Marhold includes an article by its political director, Jean-Pierre Gouzy, paying tribute to "Georges Goriely, heterodox federalist". Goriely's best work was his "Outline of a history of national feeling in Europe" ("Esquisse pour une histoire du sentiment national en Europe") in the opinion of Pierre Gouzy, who is at pains to demonstrate the validity today of the ideas of this "atypical" federalist so rich in ideas who passed away in 1998. Alexandre Marc "appreciated the stimulating and disturbing" nature of his interventions, while dreading "his improvisation skills".
In the same issue, Robert Toulemon, President of the Association française d'étude pour l'Union européenne (AFEUR), outlines a "draft synthesis" of federal Europe and a Europe of states, referring in particular to his strategy for "a genuine Presidency of Europe" (published in EUROPE/Documents of 8 June 2002). Robert Toulemon hails the work of the European Convention but is not very optimistic, predicting that the most likely outcome of the Convention will be "the simplest: providing a few improvements to the functioning of the Community pillar and continuing to feed the illusion of a foreign and defence policy combating international crime..." He does, however, make an appeal: "Let us hope at least that the Convention and the Intergovernmental Conference will bear in mind the absolute necessity of bringing Europe closer to the population, whether in terms of reforming the European elections, Council decision making, the establishment of elements of participatory democracy at European level or the setting of ambitious convergence criteria for social affairs". (MG)
*** ALFRED GROSSER (Ed.): Les pays d'Europe occidentale. Edition 2002. La documentation française (29 quai Voltaire, F-75007 Paris. Tel: (33-1) 40157218 - Fax: 40157230 - E-mail: cdi@ladocumentationfrancaise.fr - Internet: http: //http://www.ladocumentationfrancaise.fr ). 2002, 359 pp, 19.00 euros. ISBN 2-11-005232-5.
Every year since 1979, "La documentation française" has published an overview of the components of the European Union. For the 2002 edition, 18 countries, along with the European Union itself, are analysed by a team of essayists headed by Alfred Grosser. The events of 11 September run through this year's issue, along with their repercussions on mentality, and the policies of the countries concerned. The end of 2001, developments in 2002. Solidarity with the traditional US ally taking a different flavour according to the country in question, differences in political speeches and concrete action, greater integration problems for Muslims, especially in the wake of politically incorrect feelings which had been bottled up until then, attempts to construct a European identity in terms of the economy, politics or defence - all these areas are reviewed country by country by each of the authors. Economic problems after the psychological shock of the attacks the multiple ricochets still being felt, globalisation, terrorism, popular identity, insecurity, risk of falling into poverty, ageing and immigration… The roots of discomfort are similar in Western European countries and often lead to similar effects, even if reactions may differ. These differences are, however, greater between politicians and people of the country in question than between different countries. The study analyses a breadth of subject matter, for example, what to make of the European social democratic model, jewel in the crown of the end of the last century and until such a short time ago, but which is now being breached almost all the way down the middle? A summary of the current economic, social and political news of the eighteen countries of Western Europe, the 2002 issue is a rigorous and systematic snapshot of the aspects it covers. It avoids sliding from one subject to another since it deals with each separately, country by country. The authors are all well versed in their subject matter, most of them from the academic world. (PBu)
*** BERNARD OWEN: Le système électoral et son effet sur la représentation parlementaire des partis: le cas européen. Librairie Générale de Droit et de Jurisprudence (31 rue Falguière, F-75741 Paris cedex 15. Internet: http://www.lgdj.fr ). "Bibliothèque constitutionnelle et de science politique", No. 113. 2002, 530 pp, 30 euros. ISBN 2-275-02304-6.
The author of this book makes a comparative analysis of electoral systems, covering changes over time and differences due to domestic politics and citizens' perception of them. The analysis is based on two factors selected given their continual presence: "electoral influence groups" and "modifying the structure for accepting anti-government votes" (the anti-system effect). Bernard Owen is Secretary General of the Centre d'Etudes comparatives des Elections, part of the CERSA-CNRS at Université Panthéon-Assas Paris II. He is also a member of the Venice Commission. (OJ)
*** MICHAEL JUNGWIRTH (Ed.): Haider, Le Pen & Co. Europas Rechtspopulisten. Verlag Styria GmbH &Co Kg (Graz. Internet: http://www.verlagstyria.com ). 2002, 280 pp. ISBN 3-222-12999-1.
In this series of portraits of fifteen "right wing populists" on the political scene in Europe today, there are or course figures everybody is aware of, like Le Pen in France, Haider in Austria and, more recently Fortuyn in the Netherlands, but there are some who are little known outside their own country, along with others who would refuse to be considered in this category, like Silvio Berlusconi, of course, or Umberto Bossi. Candidate countries are also put under the spotlight (Orban in Hungary, Meciar in Slovakia and Lepper in Poland) by German, Austrian, Swiss and Belgian essayists in several European capitals. The Brussels correspondent of Kleine Zeitung and Oberösterreischichen Nachrichten, Michael Jungwirth, has assembled the essays in this book which is highly spirited despite the feeling of alarm that runs through it. The authors know their subject matter well and describe the politicians in a lively, vivid tone. The authors range from Schill (Germany) to Dewinter (Belgium) and Kjaersgaard (Denmark), via Hagen (Norway) and Portas from Portugal. In the introduction, Michael Jungwirth notes how all the politicians flourish under media attention (their main "life force"), and how they all profit from the crisis of "post-modern society" and the fact that many voters feel ill at ease with politics. He calls on politicians, if they do not want "traditional politics to be its own gravedigger", to go beyond simply "demonising" these adversaries and rise to the challenge of "globalisation, modernisation and Europeanisation", which give rise to some of the fears that feed these new extremist right wing populists. (MG)
*** EUROPEAN COMMISSION (Official Publications Office of the European Communities, L-2985, Luxembourg, http: //publications.eu.int) has published the following documents:
*** Innovation & Transfer. DG Enterprise (Fax: (352-4301) 32084 - E-mail: innovation@cec.eu.int - Internet: http://www.cordis.lu/itt-fr/home.html ). January 2003, N.1, 32p.. Free subscription.
"It is time to take action for European innovation", announces the editorial in this issue. In it we learn that the current Presidency of the European Council has taken up the challenge to create these better conditions. Among the other subjects affecting innovation currently are the following: "Plans for Reaching the 3% Investment Objective", "An Appeal to collaboration from SMEs", "Support for Regional Investment Funds", "Greater Visibility for the Technology Market", "Regional Prospective Traces route for Local Businesses", "Helping New Partners to Innovate", "Innovation for Figure and Fitness" and "A New Generation Innovation Policy?". We are also able to read an article about innovation in Greece, large-scale plan for innovation in Greece and innovation in the British capital city.
*** Agenda social. DG Employment and Social Affairs (Tel: (32-2) 2954988 - Fax: 2962393 - empl-info@cec.eu.int). December 2002, No. 4, 19pp.
"Protecting personal Data in the Workplace", is one of the articles in this issue. The Commission is currently proposing rules to protect data of a personal nature. Other articles focus on the disabled demanding access to information technology, setting up a network to strengthen the fight against discrimination, reform of the employment policy that has set out objectives till 2010, support for local projects to develop competencies adapted to changes in the life-style of women and men in Europe.
*** Liaisons sociales Europe. (1 av. Edouard-Belin, F-92500 Rueil-Malmaison. Tel: (33-1) 41299659 - Fax: 299665 - Internet: http://www.ls-europe.com ). From 6 - 9 February 2003, No. 73, 16 pp. Issue price: 25 euro.
Lively discussions have taken place at the "Social Europe" group at the European Convention. The core of the disagreement involves the extension of the vote to qualified majority and new competencies in social affairs. "The status quo prevails instead of the social agenda in the future European Constitution", is the criticism levelled by the group in charge of the report on the subject. With regard to the extension of qualified majority voting, the consensus of the group is just looking at the issue in the context of the compromise of Nice. The group could not agree on Article 137-5 of the treaty, which excludes all Community intervention in the areas of salaries, the right of association, strikes and lock-outs. The follow-up will consist of a debate at the plenary session of the Convention. Among the other subjects studied are: a new law in Belgium for fighting against discrimination, the conciliation procedure during wage negotiations in Germany and an article on social dialogue in Hungary.
*** Politica Exterior (6 Padilla - 28006 Madrid. Tel: (34-91) 4312628 - Fax: 5777252 - revista@politicaexterior.com). January / February 2003 Vol: XVII, Num: 91, 180 pp? 10.50 euro.
"Europe's Time has Come"! In Copenhagen the Union decided to move forward with the most wide-scale enlargement in its history. But the challenges in store for the Union institutions are not easy. A certain number of questions arise. Particularly the following: "In what context will future members be welcomed into the Community?" This issue provides its vision on the question, as well as European construction in general. We are also able to read contributions from the Spanish Foreign Affairs Minister Ana de Palacio, Javier Solana, Valéry Giscard d'Estaing, Vicente Garrido and Francisco Aldecoa.
*** Rivista di Studi politici internazionali (40 Lungarno del Tempio, 50121 Florence. Tel: (39-55) 666384). Genaio-Marzo 2003, Anno LXX, No.1 174p.
Seeking to achieve "Pacem in terris" should be the permanent task of all, such is the message of Pope Jean Paul II. So should the quest for the European spiritual dimension, which is no less important. A bit closer the earthly reality are the two historic summits, that of Prague, ushering NATO enlargement and that of Copenhagen with the opening up of the new era for Europe and its rendezvous with destiny.