*** JEAN POORTERMAN: Les impromptus d'un témoin. De la rue de la Loi au quartier Schuman. FDM éditions (34 rue Van Schoor, B-1030 Brussels. Tel: (32-2) 2423350). 2003, 415 p..
Many people in the European microcosm of Brussels and Belgian political circles remember him. But Jean Poorterman has never been widely known, and never will be, despite having been one of the workers in the shadow who devote their entire lives to public service, to the noblest and grandest aspects that politics has to offer. A lawyer trained at the Université libre de Bruxelles where he contributed to the establishment of a Brussels Surveillance Committee, a centre of resistance that would go on to give rise to the "Hotton Service", Jean Poorterman delved into the Second World War and his family background (very well known on the left) in order to discover his ferocious will-power that never let him down, and to put himself at the service of the rule of law and democracy and, very swiftly, the European project. In this book, which he started to write at the age of 75 and which he finished seven years later, four days before he passed away, he explains his career, his passions, his meetings. "Memoirs"? The man was too modest to want to leave memoirs for the future. His one ambition, in designing the book based on souvenirs and personal archives from an entire life spent in the shadows, was to avoid so many shared souvenirs slipping into abandon and to extend the existence of friends and companions who have passed away, to make them live again in these pages dedicated to those close to him so that "a share of memory" will not be amputated, will not be lost forever.
This share of memory may want to be modest, but it is unusual. Jean Poorterman served, and therefore rubbed shoulders with, emblematic characters. Rejecting any historic pretensions, he explains how at the age of 26 he joined the cabinet of the Prime Minister, Camille Huysmans, and how he very rapidly progressed to join what would become a guard close to Paul-Henri Spaak. At one point, he became Deputy Head of Cabinet for Spaak, which meant he followed "from the inside" the crisis of the European defence community, the rebound of Messina, the relaunch of Val Duchesse and the signature and ratification of the Treaties of Rome. Pages of history that Poorterman brings to life with, for example, anecdotes he experienced and, more particularly, portraits of the protagonists of the time: Maurice Faure, German ambassador Ophüls, Dutchman Linthorst-Homan, the Belgian Prime Minister Achille Van Acker… Jean Poorterman would not escape from this epoch undamaged - he would be a "Spaakist" for ever more, giving the man his unreserved admiration - "Thank you, dear Paul-Henri Spaak, for giving me the opportunity to discover the royal paths of audacious thought" -devoured by the European passion he inoculated him with. Jean Poorterman would later, in fact, be spokesperson for the European Atomic Energy Community, Euratom, and then of the united Commission with Jean Rey as its President who very quickly agreed to his request to establish and run an information bureau for Belgium. He would continue in this post until he retired. A slice of life that he again illustrates with highly personal portraits of figures like Sicco Mansholt, Paul De Groote, Raymond Barre, Léo Tindemans, Emile Noël and, above all, his final companion in arms, Albert Coppé. He also talks about colleagues, less well-known friends and also journalists, in anecdotes that are sometimes very tasty morsels. The story, for example, about when German national Krekeler dubbed him spokesperson for Euratom by handing him blue sheets of paper and saying: "You'll find in there the most recent issues of that Agence Europe which publishes all our decisions before we do with perfectly irritating indiscretion. I would ask you as your first activity to establish methods to allow us to avoid us being talked about without our agreement"…
Convinced that a spokesperson has to have the mission of making the institution he or she works for known rather than ensuring it is not talked about, Poorterman very soon entered excellent relations with the investigative journalist, a certain… Ferdinando Riccardi. He no longer hid his admiration for the "strange beaming" of the "out of the ordinary character", both a "committed defender" and "extremely rigorous sage", Emanuele Gazzo. An admiration that the latter felt for him in return. The day after a ceremony organised to mark Jean Poorterman's retirement from European public service, Emanuele Gazzo wrote: "Agence Europe associates itself with the tribute being paid to this man of action and of faith, to the integrated European and to the friend ". A friend who was also like a father to a young journalist …
Michel Theys
*** MICHEL COINTAT: Les couloirs de l'Europe. L'Harmattan (see address below). 2001, 286 pp, 25.09 euros. ISBN 2-7475-1878-7.
From 1961 to 1967, Michel Cointat headed the French agricultural delegation and was part of the Special Agricultural Council. He was then appointed French agriculture minister under President Georges Pompidou, which meant that he was unable to publish this book, despite it being finished since 1971 as a result of Elysee rules. Here it is at last, thirty years later, in the original version but supplemented by an epilogue covering the years 1870 to 2000 and explaining changes that have occurred since then. The result is a document of its era explaining everyday life, as seen by a Frenchman, in the corridors of the newly established Europe. (MT)
*** MICHEL DUMOULIN, GENEVIEVE DUCHENNE (Ed.): Les petits Etats et la construction européenne. Actes de la VIIe Chaire Glaverbel d'études européennes 2001-2002. Presses Interuniversitaires Européennes (1 av. Maurice, B-1050 Brussels) and Peter Lang (15 Jupiterstrasse, CH-3000 Berne. Fax: (41-31) 9402131 - E-mail: info@peterlang.com - Internet: http://www.peterlang.net ). "Actes de la Chaire Glaverbel d'études européennes" series, No. 2. 2002, 401 pp. ISBN 90-5201-112-5.
Who could forget Tony Blair inviting his Italian, French, Spanish and German counterparts to a working dinner in the autumn at his home, 10 Downing Street? His move aroused ire among the other Member States. Aside from the fact that they were prevented from enjoying English cooking, they say it as evidence of desire to play down their views. In fact, it was one episode among what was to become a never-ending series. Recently, the "small countries" matched the intrigue by expressing their traditional differences at a meeting organised in Luxembourg. Whether it gazes at its navel or attempts to observe its place in the world, the European Union cannot escape from this gnawing existential question. Looking at the theme of small states and the European project, the Institut d'études européennes of the l'Université catholique de Louvain (Belgium) could not have made a more appropriate choice. This book publishes in detail the proceedings of the VII Glaverel Chair. Fourteen participants from across Europe consider this area of research. Academics or observers from the field, they take a range of angles of approach, from general descriptions of the phenomenon to more targetted considerations of a specific sector via monographs of specific countries. Without attempting to be exhaustive, we can mention the essay by Antoine Fleury, lecturer at Geneva University, on "small countries in European policy in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries". Willem Molle analyses the potential "Calim-Eco", referring to the popular cartoon of the 1970s where little Caliméro never stops complaining. The lecturer at Rotterdam University not only tests the potential link between the geographical size of a country and the health of its economy, but is also at paints to gauge the impact of this link on relations between mss. (AD)
*** CATHERINE PRUDHOMME-DEBLANC: Un ministère français face à l'Europe. Le cas du ministère de l'Equipement, des Transports et du Logement. L'Harmattan (5-7 rue de l'Ecole-Polytechnique, F-75005 Paris. Tel: (33-1) 40467920 - Fax: 43258203). "Logiques politiques" series. 2002, 414 pp, 33.50 euros. ISBN 2-7475-2608-9
"There are two complementary imperatives for keeping our place in the European project - defending the interests of France in the European Union, and actively working at the construction of the Union (…), i.e. being euro-constructive"… These are the words used by the Minister of "Equipement" in addressing French citizens in his "Modernisation Programme" in 2001. National interests and Community interests come together therefore. One has to point out that this convergence is made at the cost of a total change in paradigm. The Administration gives up its role as original source of the well-being of the subjects it serves to make way for a market. The idea of public action has been changed. Catherine Prudhomme-Deblanc, public works engineer for the French state and Doctor in Political Science, describes the Europeanization of the state. A process the first dimension of which is the interaction of the state with the Community structure. The former then takes on the role of catalyst and "anti-corrosion mechanism" for the latter. The second dimension of Europeanization is that of "transformation and hybridisation" of national public activity. It is these two concomitant phenomena, along more generally with the impact of the European project, that the author studies by means of an analysis of the French public equipment ministry.
(AD)
*** ERIC PHILIPPART: Un nouveau mécanisme de coopération renforcée pour l'Union européenne élargie. 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", No. 22. 2003, 39 pp.
The mini-summit organised by Belgium for (re)launching the construction of a Europe of security and defence confirmed in a dramatic way that the Convention will be assessed in the light of the opportunities that arise in the new constitutional treaty for carrying out enhanced cooperation in at least twenty five Member States. As Jacques Delors explains in the preface to this new publication by the "Notre Europe" study and research group of which he is the Chairman, the time has come to live the differences of political partiality in the European policy of current and future Member States, on a basis other than frustration: "frustration for those who are harried into going faster and further than they at that time so wish, but also frustration for those who have to go forward at the pace of the slowest". The time is not right, according to the former President of the Commission, to begin "a sincere discussion on the hypothesis of one or more enhanced missions of enhanced cooperation" from the starting point of the objective observation that "European construction has often progressed thanks to differentiation".
In this context, this study is extremely welcome insofar as it deals with this issue from a scientific vantage point. A lecturer at the Free University of Brussels, as well as at the College of Europe in Bruges, Eric Philippart initially tackles the issue by addressing three major questions. Does the European Union need a general mechanism that could organise this kind of cooperation? What mechanism should be put into place? Could this device be improved and, in the affirmative, how? In the first part, the author demonstrates how enhanced cooperation proves to be a necessary device for dealing with recurrent problems that hinder the Union from functioning and which could, in the framework of the enlarged Union turn out to be an essential "safety valve". In this way, the mechanism, according to the author, should figure in the constitutional treaty currently being drawn up, but which initially seeks to improve the treaty of Nice. The second part of the study specifically focuses on the assessment of current provisions on the subject, with Philippart providing a concise and clear insight into the situation as it currently stands or at least, how it could turn out. To conclude, the author comes up with a number of proposals for improvement by inserting Articles into the constitutional treaty, therefore meeting the wishes of Jacques Delors whereby reflection and debate on the subject are entered into calmly. (MT)
*** FRANK RUTSCHMANN: Der europäische Vermittlungsausschuss. Eine organisationsrechtliche Untersuchung der interinstitutionellen Vermittlungseinheit im Rechtsetzungsverfahren nach Artikel 251 des EG-Vertrages. Duncker & Humblot (Postfach 410329, D-12113 Berlin. Tel: (49-30) 790006-0 - fax: 790006-31 - Internet: http: //http://www.duncker-humblot.de ). "Beiträge zum Parlamentsrecht series", No. 56. 2002, 237 pp, 66 euros. ISBN 3-428-10811-6.
The result of a PhD. thesis at the University of Leipzig, this book concentrates its analysis entirely on the issue at the heart of the codecision procedure. The author, a legal expert and former assistant to a German MEP, clarifies issue of institutional and procedural ambiguity. In the first part, he examines the legal and historical origins, as well as the competencies of the Committee. He then investigates the procedure and internal structure. A well structured and very clear publication that helps us to better understand the co-legislative nucleus of the Union. (PB)
*** LOUIS DUBOIS, CLAUDE GEYDAN: Les grands textes du droit de l'Union européenne. Tome 1: Traités - Institutions - Ordre juridique. Dalloz (31-35 rue Froidevaux, F-75685 Paris. Tel: (33-1) 40645454 - fax: 40645460 - Internet: http: //http://www.dalloz.fr ). "Grands textes" series. 2002, 554 p.. ISBN 2-24-704-572-3.
This book targets specialists in Community law and those entering the domain. The book is in its sixth edition, which is indicative of the recognition it deserves. It focuses on the treaties and the papers relating to the Union, as well as legal regime and this first tome obviously does not set out to cover every single item. Selection is guided by "the intention to present a range of papers that can provide an idea of the diversity of and wealth of this new branch of law". The book is divided into four parts. The first deals with the treaties, protocols, declarations and proclamations. The second brings together the texts of the main Union institutions. The third examines the legal regime and the fourth focuses on finance and the budget. At the end of the book the readers find a table that guides them through according to the traditional keys: alphabetical, chronological and subject.
(AD)
*** La COMMISSION EUROPEENNE (Official Publications Office of the European Communities, L-2985, Luxembourg. Internet: http: //publications.eu.int) has published the following document:
*** Single Market News. 10th Anniversary Special. DG Internal Market (Unit A-3, C100 1/41, B-1049 Brussels. Tel: (32-2) 2957357 - fax: 2954351 - E-mail: markt-smn@cec.eu.int - Internet: http: //europa.eu.int/comm/internal_market/smn.htm). 2003, 22 pp.
A wealth of papers in French, English and German, this issue entirely focuses on the tenth anniversary of the setting up of the great single market, characterised by its lack of internal borders. It examines the Single Act up to the Single Market and looks at the vision of citizens and companies. It then looks at a number of other pending issues and sketches an outline of the different perspectives, notably in light of the Convention and enlargement.
*** Revue du Marché Commun et de l'Union européenne. Editions techniques et économiques (3 rue soufflot, F-75005 Paris. Tel: (33-1) 55426130 - fax: 55426139 - E-mail: editcom@starnet.fr - Internet: http://www.editecom.com ). April 2003, no. 467, 62 pp. Subscription: 169 euros (France), 202 euros (abroad).
In brief, this publication looks at the Iraqi crisis that has heightened disagreements, which the Union cannot afford to ignore, enlargement, Germany and France and the Stability and Growth Pact, national economic policy coordination in the Union, funding methods by local organisations, the ending of remuneration of current accounts as a test piece in Community law.
*** The Federalist Debate. The Einstein Center for International Studies (26 via Schina, I-10144 Turin. Tel: (39-011) 4732843 - fax: 4732843 - E-mail: federalist.debate@libero.it - Internet: http://www.federalist-debate.org ). March 2003, No.1, 64 pp. Subscription: 15 euros.
Addressing European federalists and the world at large, this brochure is structured into three major parts. The first consists of articles covering current affairs, with the actual crisis in Iraq being looked at. The second part focuses on integration and enlargement and the third looks at recent books and articles.
*** Europe Infos. Catholic Information and Initiative Office for Europe and the Commission of the Bishops Conference of the European Community (42 rue Stévin, B-1000 Brussels. Tel: (32-2) 2350510 - fax: 2303334 - E-mail: europeinfos@comece.org - Internet: http://www.comece.org; http://www.ocipe.org ). April 2003, No. 48, 12 pp. Subscription: 27 euros.
Beginning with an editorial entitled "Winning the Peace", this issue largely focuses on the work going on at the Convention, notably from a perspective of acknowledging the place of religion and the churches in the constitutional treaty. Other articles examined the European patent, freedom of movement, trans-Alpino transport and the environment, Romania on the road to the Union, the information society and relations between the Union and Africa.
*** One Europe or Several ? The Dynamics of Change across Europe. Economic & Social Research Council (Sussex European Institute, University of Sussex, Falmer, Brighton BN1 9SH. Tel: (44-1273) 678560 - fax: 678571 -email: j.rollo@sussex.ac.uk - Internet: http: //http://www.one-europe.ac.uk ). Spring 2003, No. 9, 15 p..
This newsletter looks at the 26 projects launched in 1998 as part of a programme aiming to explore the dynamic behind the political and social changes occurring on the European continent. These projects have focused on governance, perceptions on security citizenship and identity, the impact of a pan-European market on society and the economy in the context of the challenges created by globalisation.
*** News from Cyprus. Press Bureau of the Embassy and Permanent Delegation of the Republic of Cyprus to the Union (2 square Ambiorix, B-1000 Brussels, Tel: (32-2) 7353510 - fax: 7357948 - E-mail: chypre.pio.bxl@skynet.be). March-April 2003, 4 pp..
This issue deals with the European Parliament's "green light" to the Union enlargement of ten new Member States, including the composition of the new Cypriot government, Turkey's European approach, which involves Cyprus and the Turkish part of the island's responsibility for the failure of reunification efforts made by the United Nations.