*** La Revue nouvelle. ASBL "La Revue nouvelle" (126 bld. Général Jacques, B-1050 Brussels. Tel/Fax: (32-2) 6403107 - e-mail: joelle.kwaschin@euronet.be). January/February 2003, No. 1-2, 106 pp, 8.68 euros. Annual subscription: 74.36 euros.
This issue of the well-known Belgian socio-political review is fully dedicated to the Convention and its first tangible outcome: the appearance of the word "Constitution", "to be put down to the patent failure of the Nice Treaty", and bringing with it a "qualitative rupture in the construction of the political European Union". The publication's director, Théo Hachez, explains in his introductory article that Member States will be called upon to recognise with this constitution document "the legitimate existence of common sovereignty", and this won't be easy for the countries that "have lived on the dream of their exclusiveness" but is absolutely vital from the democratic viewpoint - this recognition will look like "compensation for the loss of control over policy following the loss of states' real autonomy" and that more importantly it would "bring common sovereignty into the field of democracy by setting out the conditions for its exercise and making them more directly accessible for European citizens". The constitutional principle is not, however, the rule everywhere, it still needs to be known what power mechanisms will be set up or, to be less abstract, whether political Europe will be "more federal or less". In this connection, on the Franco-German proposal to pit the "two prisms of legitimacy" of political Europe, namely "nation states and the decompartmentalised representation of Europeans" against each other through two Presidencies (of the European Council and of the Commission), Théo Hachez argues that the emergence of a two-speed Europe in response to "real danger of dilution" facing enlargement and differences in European ambitions seemed on the cards "as submission to forced partnership in this Franco-German agreement". The following striking comment is made about what will follow the current events of the last few weeks: "If the strength of Europe today postulates a centre, it will have a recalcitrant periphery. If this strength can only be experienced by opposing a third country, the United States, then the alignment of governments of this periphery with the policy of the United States in the face of public opinion in their own countries has to be taken as a warning concerning internal European diplomacy".
The utility of this issue goes beyond political analysis, no matter how pertinent. Fed by the Avicenna Group of philosophers representing spiritual and philosophical schools of thought, both secular and religious, aiming to "bring out the pluralist soul of Europe", it is fully taken up with the question of whether the future European Constitution should expose founding values and principles that will be used as starting points and reference points. In Théo Hachez' opinion, "abstention from the debate on the buttresses and horizons" of the European Constitution "would be like a lost opportunity that would widen the sense deficit for politics" whereas "the desire to go beyond an "a minima" consensus may act in and of itself as a catalyst for a democratic experience". This viewpoint is supported by Jean-Marc Ferry, philosophy lecturer at the Université libre de Bruxelles and runs through his remarkable contribution calling for consensus through confrontation with this statement: "political excommunication of religious matters is no longer de rigueur"! Writer and senior lecturer at the law faculty in Douai, France (Université d'Artois), Nourredine Saadi believes that referring to the Christian God would have the effect of excluding millions of Muslim immigrants and affirms that Islam has to come to terms with the democratic values that underlie the European Union. While Philippe Bacq, lecturer at the "Lumen Vitae" Centre international d'études et de formation religieuse in Brussels, believes that a reference to Europe's religious heritage could have a place in the preamble as long as it expresses the points of convergence and divergence between churches and between churches and secular philosophy, Olivier Boruchowitch, Editor-in-Chief of the secular Jewish community centre (Centre communautaire laïc juif) review "Regards", defends the view that the Constitution, guarantor of democracy, can only refer to values held in common. Olivier Abel, philosophy lecturer at the Faculty of Protestant Theology in Paris, asserts "the thousand wells from which Europe springs and the diversity of its memories have to be given the possibility of contributing to the future", while Georges Liénard, Secretary Général of the European Humanist Federation, wonders whether the Churches' demand that transcendence be incorporated in the preamble is a reflection of their desire to obtain a privileged seat in the institutions, and Guillaume de Stexhe, lecturer at the Facultés universitaires Saint-Louis and Member of the Bioethics Advisory Committee (Comité consultatif de bioéthique), highlights that the transcendence against which values should be placed is the transcendence of the "ethical and moral principles of democracy". The members of the Avicenna Group conclude: "What should be incorporated into the future Constitution is not transcendence, but the necessary public debate about the different convictions".
Michel Theys
*** PIERRE LEQUILLER: Un président pour l'Europe. Fondation Robert Schuman (29 Bld. Raspail, F-75007 Paris. Tel: (33-1) 53638300 - Fax: 53638301 - Internet: http://www.robert-schuman.org ). "Notes de la Fondation Robert Schuman" series. 2003, 80 pp, 10 euros. ISBN being requested.
The President of the French national assembly's Delegation for the European Union, Pierre Lequiller, is a man of firm convictions. And he is a Convention Member who calls a spade a spade: "I cannot stand the idea that Europe does not speak with a loud voice on the international stage", he exclaims, going on to explain that "we have to consider ourselves guilty by default for the Israeli-Palestinian carnage". A deeply felt sentiment that has cruel relevance these days… To get out of this situation, Pierre Lequiller dedicates this brochure to the necessary "creation of a President for Europe". The French deputy starts by assessing the lie of the land, reviewing the Aznar-Blair-Chirac proposals (President of the European Council), Badinter-Quermonne-Berès (head of government of the EU), and the preferred option of the Commission and Benelux countries, namely keeping a kind of revolving Presidency. In the second part of the brochure that author describes how a single and a double-headed Presidency would work. The second idea, defended by Paris and Berlin, he finds attractive, but all the same he argues convincingly for the second option too, that of the same person being both President of the European Council and President of the Commission, an idea he defended in a contribution to the Convention. "We are probably not ready today", he admits but refuses to abandon hope: "perhaps one day this strong objective that everyone can understand, which is neither intergovernmental nor Community, but simply European, perhaps one day it will be achieved." (MT)
*** ANNA MICHALSKI: Governing Europe: The Future Role of the European Commission. Nederlands Instituut voor internationale betrekkingen Clingendael (Research Department, Postbus 93080, NL-2509 AB 's-Gravenhage. Tel: (31-70) 3746-605/622 - Fax: 3746667 - E-mail: research@clingendael.nl - Internet: http: //http://www.clingendael.nl ). "Study" series, No. 17. 2002, 80 pp. ISBN 90-5031-083-4.
The role of the European Commission, the changes it has gone through and the challenges it has had to take up in the 1990s up until the Convention and enlargement are all analysed in this book by Anna Michalski, researcher at the Dutch Clingendael Institute and, more importantly, member of the Commission's Forward Studies Unit from 1996 to 2001. Analysing the sometimes frustrating experiences of the Intergovernmental Conferences and Summits of Maastricht, Amsterdam and Nice, along with the administrative reforms of the Commission, she takes a realistic look at, for example, the White Paper on governance, recent politicising of European integration and the intergovernmental trends that are currently making themselves felt in the EU. Five recommendations are made in the book: the Commission's credibility has to be restored; its role has to be defined as a "Regime Manager" in the Community system; it has to be given stronger executive powers in decentralised European governance; its programme mandate and legitimacy need to be strengthened; and a common European vision has to be constructed in a context of diversity. To sum up, this is a genuinely "forward"-looking study that calls for a strong Commission. It is recommended reading for people carrying out research into European integration and anyone interested in the current constitutional and institutional debates. (PB)
*** Bulletin de jurisprudence constitutionnelle. Venice Commission, Council of Europe (Fas: (33-3) 88412780 - E-mail: venice@coe.int). 2003, 220 pp, 30.48 euros. This special issue provides a historical perspective of key decisions on how the Constitutional Courts mesh with other national jurisidictions and how European courts fit into this picture.
*** CECILE BARBIER: La Convention européenne. Genèse et premiers résultats. Centre de recherche et d'information socio-politiques (1A place Quetelet, B-1210 Brussels. Tel: (32-2) 2110180 - Internet: http://www.crisp.be ). "Courrier hebdomadaire" series, No. 1776-1777. 2002, 94 pp, 6.90 euros.
At a time when the Convention is being profoundly shaken by dissent in the EU, this analysis is published at an appropriate time to put the setting up of this assembly to outline the EU of tomorrow back into context. Inspired by the productive model of the Convention for drawing up the EU's Charter of Fundamental Rights, the Convention is the fruit of the delicate alchemy reigning between the Community Method and the Intergovernmental Method. It is true that in their essence the first frightens capital cities and the second never ceases to expose its restrictions in terms of revising the Treaties so the author looks in turn at the Convention's mandate, its structure, Members and working method. But Cécile Barbier goes further because she also draws up a preliminary balance sheet, describing the activities of the various working groups and the substance of their discussions. (AD)
*** PHILIPPE RIVAUD, ANDY SMITH (Ed): La Commission européenne: les dynamiques d'une reconfiguration institutionnelle. L'Harmattan (5-7 rue de l'Ecole-Polytechnique, F-75005 Paris). "Politique européenne" series, No. 5. 2001, 149 pp. ISBN 2-7475-1763-2
The attempts to reshape the functioning of he Commission defy traditional models. This book attempts the task by describing, inter alia, the intermeshing of the guardian of the treaties with the other EU institutions. There is a useful explanation by Sabine Saurugger of the often little known world of the EU lobby groups. (AD)
*** WILLIAM H. ROBINSON: Knowledge & Power. The essential connection between research and the work of the legislature. ECPRD (European Parliament, ASP 05 D 51, rue Wiertz, 1047 Brussels. Tel: (32-2) 2844560 - Fax: 2849005 - Internet: http: //http://www.ecprd.org ). 2002, 61 pp.
Written by a specialist from the famous US Congress research department, this short brochure introduces and analyses the current challenges and work of parliamentary research and documentation departments. The increased demand for information by parliamentarians, the complexity of political decisions and the rapid changes in the domain of information increase the pressure on researchers working for parliaments. The author clearly outlines the criteria to be met to meet these demands. A table is attached comparing the organisation and work of the research and documentation departments of different parliaments in thirty or so EU countries. A useful publication for specialists in parliamentary affairs, researchers and librarians. (PB)
*** LAURENCE EBERHARD HARRIBEY: L'Europe et la jeunesse. L'Harmattan (5-7 rue de l'Ecole Polytechnique, F-75005 Paris). "Logiques Politiques" series. 2002, 302 pp, 24.40 euros. ISBN 2-7475-2645-3.
With several years experience in European "youth" work and a doctorate in politics from the Institut d'Etudes Politiques in Paris, the author looks in this book at the different approaches taken to European Youth Policy at the Council of Europe and in the European Community, comparing the Council of European's European Youth Centre and the European Youth Fund, and the EU's European Youth Forum. The various activities organised by both organisations are assessed from the same viewpoint, revealing that the two organisations with such fundamentally different foundations and resources have also designed their youth activities in a different manner. Research carried out over almost thirty-five years also reveals that there has been a change from an idea of youth involved in and with strong views on politics to a different concept based on business and consumerism, with young people becoming a tool used by public actors to decode the real or supposed needs to which a specially designed series of action programmes are meant to meet, through "over the counter" policies. The research outlines these changes, starting with the initial research into the very idea of "youth", via a study of youth policy, the emergence of youth movements, the battle of ideas between the Western and Communist blocs during the Cold War and finally, the implementation of European policies, arriving in the end at processes of "Europeanising" public policy in this connection. (PBu)
*** The EUROPEAN COMMISSION (Official Publications Office of the European Communities, L-2985, Luxembourg. Internet: http: //publications.eu.int) has published the following documents:
*** Cordis Focus. RTD Results supplement. DG Enterprise (Fax: (352-4301) 32084 - E-mail: helpdesk@cordis.lu - Internet: http://www.cordis.lu/ ). February 2003, No 40, 44 pp.
This supplement to Cordis Focus looks at the outcome of Research and Development carried out within the framework of the EU R&D programmes. Divided into sections, the brochure considers medicine, the environment, energy, telecoms and industry. Each section briefly describes several innovative and successful projects, giving the scientific basis of the research.
*** L'Environnement pour les Européens. DG Environment (Fax: (32-2) 2969560 - E-mail: envinfo@cec.eu.int - Internet: http: //europa.eu.int/comm/environment/index_fr.htm). January 2003, No. 13, 16 pp.
Catherine Day, Director General of DG Environment, interviewed in this issue of the magazine, expresses her pleasure at the commitment of the team she joined in June 2002, commenting that "the European Union is being called upon more and more to act as international referee in the field of environmental diplomacy". The magazine explains that "environment policy remains a priority" under the Greek Presidency and one can expect huge developments in environmental issues before the end of June. The magazine cites the examples of draft chemicals legislation and a directive on members of the public being able to take cases to court over the environment.
*** Economia Exterior. Estudios de Política Exterior (6 Padilla, 28006 Madrid. Tel: (34-91) 4312628 - Fax: 5777252 - E-mail: revista@politicaexterior.com - Internet: http://www.politicaexterior.com ). 2003, No. 23, 192 pp, 13 euros.
The series of financial scandals on the other side of the Atlantic, like Enron and WorldCom, has led to an erosion of confidence in a particular type of capitalism. This issue of Economia exterior looks at the crisis in the financial markets and the process of reforming company governance and regulation systems. Based on an analysis of financial crises in the past, it goes on to study the most recent cases. There is also a dossier on oil prices over the past thirty years and an article on company governance within the European Union.
*** 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 ). February 2003, No. 465. 139 pp. Annual subscription: 165 euros.
In an interview with this review, the External Relations Commissioner Chris Patten comments on reforming the EU's aid programmes, saying that although it is in the process of completion, it will still take a few years before the full benefits of the reform become manifest. The Commissioner also discusses human rights developments in China and the situation in Iran and is asked about CFSP and the few areas of hesitation that have arisen among the Member States. In terms of the CFDP, the magazine considers how the policy might change with regard to the South and Euro-Med security. Still in the field of non-Communitarised themes, particular attention is paid to a specific area of JHA, namely parental responsibility after a couple split up. Another article looks at the European arrest warrant. In an entirely different vein, there is also an article on reform of the Common Fisheries Policy, aptly entitled: "How to compromise between friends of fish and friends of fishing?".
In brief
*** Biblioteca della libertà. January-April 2002, No. 163. Centro Einaudi, Turin. There are articles in this issue on, inter alia, corruption in the former Soviet bloc and the issue of pensions in the European Union. *** La Gazette de la presse francophone. January-February 2003. Paris. Selected to make a point, the review includes an article on use of the French language in Canada and a big dossier on the media, from French style journalism to the anniversary of the creation of the Moroccan press distribution society via an article outlining the mission of the French TV channel TV5.