*** GIANNI PITTELLA: Il triangolo della ricchezza. Gruppo parlamentare del Partito del socialismo europeo, delegazione dei democratici di sinistra (rue Wiertz, B-1000 Brussels. Tel: (32-2) 2842976 - Fax: 2301766 - Internet: http: //http://www.pes.org ). 2002, 104 pp.
The corners of the "triangle of wealth" that Democratici di sinistra MEP Gianni Pittella writes about in this book are North Yorkshire, Franche-Comté in France and Hamburg. This triangle covers central regions that account for no more than fourteen percent of the EU's surface area, but where one third of the population of the EU lives and almost half its Gross Domestic Product is generated. This concentration of industry and population has a negative impact on peripheral regions, and also on these central regions themselves, where “toxic emissions are two to three times higher than in peripheral regions”, explains Gianni Pittella. He visited the Mezzogiorno (southern Italy) with a dozen other MEPs, including the President of the EP's Budget Committee, Terence Wynn, to show them how the regions in question deal with their late development. The MEP is particularly concerned that European governance has not yet been assimilated by all decentralised stakeholders. The author points out that this affects specific regions, and explains that he and his colleagues have taken all the proposals from the regions to the office of the ever attentive Commissioner Michel Barnier. The Regional Policy Commissioner is well aware of the potential danger of Agenda 2000 slipping out of control and the author therefore calls for a courageous reduction in bureaucracy in Brussels. In a message to the author, reprinted as the book's introduction, Commissioner Michel Barnier states that in the book, Gianni Pittella defends various ideas dear to his heart too, like the need for extra vigilance when managing Structural Funds, or the importance of simplified procedures. But the Italian Socialist MEP notes that the simplification already introduced by the Commission does not seem to have had any real impact. He acknowledges, however, that the responsibility for this has to be borne by all stakeholders.
Another issue dear to the MEP's heart, which he touches on in various parts of the book, is the importance of networked infrastructure for regional development. I cannot prevent myself wondering whether structural policy can be separated out from regional development, notes the author, regretting that Cohesion Policy and the trans-European networks have gone in different directions to date. Since 1993, there has been greater interest in the East-West axis than the North-South route, laments the MEP. He explains that Italy is in a less favourable situation than its neighbours to the north of the Alps. He ends the book with two questions. First he asks whether it should not be a priority to call for the North-South axis to be given precedence over the East-West axis and he then asks whether it is not the EU's duty to launch a huge political offensive for fair allocation of tangible and intangible networks in the European Union.
Marina Gazzo
*** ALAIN DELCAMP, JOHN LOUGHLIN (Ed.): La décentralisation dans les Etats de l'Union européenne. La documentation Française (29-31 quai Voltaire, F-75344 Paris. Tel: (33-1) 40157000 - Fax: 40157230 - Internet: http: //http://www.ladocumentation francaise.fr). "Les études de La documentation Française" series. 2003, 334 pp, 25.00 euros. ISBN: 2-11-005295-3.
The European Union is taking on greater political, economic, social and juridical characteristics and is starting to speak with a single voice in an increasing number of areas. In parallel, cities, communities, regions, Länder, demes and other nomos organise themselves, each in its own way and within its own state to preserve the powers granted "by the Prince" back in time. What are these sub-national entities?
Does “region” mean the same as "Länder"? What levels of power are granted by country capitals to the various degrees of local power, from provinces, the great heirs of Middle Age counties, to the smallest communities, sometimes no more than residents' committees?
In 1995, "Les études de la documentation Française" published its first analysis of this phenomenon. Eight years later, a second edition was necessary to take account of changes over those years within states which have been strongly regionalised or even structured as a federation or confederation within a single state. Fifteen countries are reviewed here from the institutional angle, describing in detail the vital characteristics of their sub-national political systems. To cope with the hazardous diversity of the very idea of “decentralisation» throughout the EU, the editors of this book call on various top-level experts in the name of subsidiarity as applied to their research. A dense, extraordinarily detailed unravelling of the various types of political system in the modern world. Rather perhaps than providing in greater detail the historical reasons that have led to the various national approaches, the book provides an excellent photographic record to the current state of decentratlisation that is sometimes hidden behind fifteen different masks.
(PBU)
*** HANSJÖRG DREWELLO: Evaluationsmethodik der grenzüberschreitenden Zusammenarbeit - Das Beispiel Oberrhein. Verlag Paul Haupt AG (Falkenplatz 14, CH-3001 Berne. Tel: 0041-31-301 2425 - Fax: 3014669 - E-mail: verlag@haupt.ch - Internet: http: //http://www.haupt.ch ). "Serie Beiträge zur Regionalwirtschaft", Vol. 4. 2002, 263 pp, 26 euros. ISBN 3-258-06399-0.
The Upper Rhine region, stretching out between France, Germany and Switzerland, that stretches out around the European capital of Strasbourg, is often seen as a model of cross-border European integration. But how does this cooperation actually work between partners in the regions of Alsace, the Baden area and the region of Basel, looking beyond official political speeches? This is the question that Hansjörg Drewello aims to answer. An economist, former head of the Kehl and Strasbourg Euro-Institut, he takes a special look at the INTERREG programme, a European Union tool established to promote cross-border cooperation. The author, who is both a practitioner and a theoretician, assesses the results of an opinion poll on the programme carried out among people involved in INTERREG projects. Sometimes a little dry and quantitative, this publication has been accepted as a PhD thesis at the University of Friburg-am-Brisgau. It can serve as a methodology and an assessment model for project managers and regional institutions dealing with cross-border cooperation and the integration of cross-border EU programmes.
(PB)
*** JEANIE BUKOWSKI, SIMONA PIATTONI, MARC SMYRL (Eds.): Between Europeanization and local societies, the space for territorial governance. Rowman & Littlefield Publisher, Inc. (P.O. Box 317, Oxford OX 2 9RU, United Kingdom. Tel: (00-1) 800-462-6420 - Internet: http://www.rowmanlittlefield.com ). 2003, 206 pp, £24.95. ISBN 0-7425-0082-9.
In a 1998 essay, Michael Keating asked whether regional government worked. In this question, he hints that local authorities have identifiable functions whose effects can be observed and, also, that these effects are important. In other words, government performance is a significant variable having political or economic outcomes and can be the subject of an objective assessment. For there is no sense asking whether government works at all different levels unless the above postulates are true.
These hypotheses have, however, been challenged on several occasions in recent years. Once considered the most promising level of government at a time when central government could not cope, regional governments have recently been critically challenged. A symbol of this new uncertainty is the fact that some people are asking what the regions of Europe govern.
A central theme of this book is the general devaluation of politics in the sense of choice or decisions in favour of more structural or, at least, more exogenous, variables. These include what is known as globalisation, the political and economic effects of European integration, or “Europeanization”, and the social and political structure rules with various qualifiers, such as political culture, social capital and the institutions. The authors of this book also explore the role and influence of political leadership through a comparative study of regional dynamics in Europe. In this connection, they study regions of France, Spain, Italy and Portugal.
(MF)
*** WETENSCHAPPELIJKE RAAD VOOR HET REGERINGSBELEID: Slagvaardigheid in de Europabrede Unie. Wetenschappelijke raad voor het regeringsbeleid - Rapporten aan de regering (Plein 1813, nr. 2-4, postbus 20004, PB-2500 EA 's-Gravenhage. Tel: (00-31) (0)70 356 46 00 - fax: 3564685 - Email: info@wrr.nl). 2003, 264 pp.. ISBN 90-12-09808-4.
The Union is on the verge of its largest ever enlargement. The countries of Eastern and Central Europe, Malta, Cyprus and Turkey have already begun preparing their membership. One group of ten countries will join in May 2004. This development has a considerable number of implications for decision-making in the Union. The current twelve members already have enormous difficulty reaching consensus. With a higher number of member countries, this will become more laborious, even more so given that the new countries have a level of social and economic development that is very low and very little Community experience. The Union with 25 members will therefore have starting points and interests that diverge even further. Moreover, the Union is taking action in areas that impact on the traditional sovereignty of the Member States. This is the case with monetary union, where countries do not agree on the necessity or the objectives. Just as controversial, are the policies carried out in the area of justice and home affairs. With all this in mind, what therefore are the kinds of governance that could improve decision making within the enlarged Europe, without impinging on current legitimacy? Such are the issues that figure at the centre of debate for some time now at governmental level, even more so given that everyone is saying that the Treaty of Nice did not accomplish the necessary institutional reforms for preparing the future of the Union. This profound reflection and the implementation of a possible agreement could take some time. Meanwhile, political leaders need to be able to respond to Community challenges by using existing institutional instruments.
This report formulates a series of recommendations in order to respond to this urgent need, independently of the future results of the Convention. Its essential conclusion is that the Union will win out in having different institutional opportunities, not only within the scope of the Community method but also through forms that are more or less flexible in co-ordination between Member States. This will help to prevent States being blocked in the future by a too uniform kind of decision making.
(MF)
*** JAMES T. McHUGH: Comparative Constitutional Traditions. Peter Lang (15 Jupiterstrasse, CH-3000 Bern. Fax: (41-31) 9402131 - Internet: http: //http://www.peterlang.net ). 2002, 235 pp. ISBN 0-8204-5800-7.
Points in common between Nigeria, Mexico and the United Kingdom are quite rare, particularly when it comes to examining their respective constitutional traditions. Constitutions are, however, the expression of the various political systems. Professor James McHugh from the University of Chicago, has set about analysing these countries through the prism of these "traditions". The first chapter of the book provides the basis of standards, ideas and necessary values for putting the different countries in perspective. In his constant quest to shed light on areas that appear abstract, the author examines the situation in the US, UK, China, Canada, Japan, India, Nigeria, France, Germany, Saudi Arabia and Mexico in their respective constitutional contexts.
(MLJ)
*** SARA CARMELI: La constitution italienne et le droit communautaire. Etude de droit comparé. L'Harmattan (5-7 rue de l'Ecole Polytechnique, F-75005 Paris. Tel: (33-1) 40467920 - fax: 43258203). "Logiques juridiques" series. 2002, 392 pp, 29 euros. ISBN: 2-7475-2822-7.
The origins for the "community phenomenon" can be located in the fact that the supranational institutions are not simply replacing their national counterparts but that they influence them and significantly change them. For several years Community constitutional law has considerably expanded. Although the application of this law is not subject to regular scrutiny by the academic world, it is not the same with regard to its reception by Member States, a view point the author shares and a subject he tackles in this book. PhD in law at the Faculté d'Aix-en-Provence et de l'université de Pérouse, Sara Carmeli presents us with the subject of her prize-winning thesis, written in French, although her mother tongue is Italian. It is also Constitutional Italian law that she examines in this book. Initially, she casts light on the "the absence of appropriateness in the Italian Constitution for European integration", a situation that has gone on for a long time. She then demonstrates how Italy has made up for the significant shortcomings to become today, one of the star pupils in this domain at the heart of the European club.
(AD)
*** Europe's environment: the third assessment. European Environment Agency (6 Kongens Nytorv, DK-1050 Copenhagen K. Tel: (45-33) 367100 - fax: 367199 - Internet: http://www.eea.eu.int - Email: eea@eea.eu.int). 2003, No. 10, 343 pp, 30 euros. ISBN 92-9167-574-1.
This second version of the third European environmental assessment balance sheet follows on from the fifth Ministerial summit in Kiev. It presents the impact of factors such as energy, fishing and transport on certain socio-economic sectors. It highlights the major environmental problems and their effect on bio-diversity and human health. Finally, it proposes a catalogue of some of the progress accomplished.
*** European Public Health Update. European Public Health Alliance (33 rue Pascale, B-1040 Brussels. Tel: (32-2) 2303056 - fax: 2333880 - Internet: http://www.epha.org - Email: epha@epha.org). May- June 2003, No. 68, 30 pp.
The European Public Health Alliance is celebrating its tenth anniversary. It is using the occasion to dedicate this special edition to the presentation of the group's coming into being, which is what has been achieved over the last ten years and through ongoing projects. The EPHA then presents us with the new challenges it will have to face up to, notably improving European competencies in the area of public health. The EPHA also provides us with an insight into the "heroes of public health" as well as an interview with the Greek Health Minister, Costas Stefanis.
*** Convention- France. Groupe EDD (288 Bd Saint-Germain, F-75341 Paris CEDEX 07. Tel: (33-1) 47055375 - fax: (33-1) 45504282 - Email: wabitbol@europarl.eu.int). May 2003, No. 6, 8 p..
William Abitbol, Member of the Convention for the Future of Europe and member of the EDD group at Parliament, gives a view of what he believes Europe should look and be like. The pages of the magazine are separated into two columns, the one on the left representing the proposals from the Convention Praesidium and those on the right presenting a mirror of William Abitbol's proposals. This issue only deals with the Union's institutions. A few pages of a propagandistic flavour, which have the merit of clarifying the positions of this MEP.
*** Le Magazine de l'éducation et de la culture en Europe. DG éducation and culture (Fax: (32-2) 2964259 - Internet: http: //europa.eu.int/comm/dgs/education_culture/index_fr.htm - Email: eac-info@cec.int). 2003, No. 19, 23 p..
Education and culture constitute the pivots in the creation of a knowledge-based Union. With enlargement, the specific nature of each candidate country and outline the new parameters that have to be taken into account. This is why this edition examines future Member States and the challenges facing them in these domains, as well as the different European programmes for promoting education and culture such as Erasmus, Socrates and the Community support programme for the audio-visual area, Media-plus.
*** La lettre de Confrontations Europe. Confrontations Europe (41 rue Emile Zola, F-93107 Montreuil Cedex. Tel: (33-1) 49881194 - fax: 49881184- Internet: http://www.confrontations.org- Email: confrontations@wanaddo.fr). April - May 2003, No. 61, 24 p., 4.60 euros, subscription: 23 euros.
What is the future for the European services of general interest? The letter from the « Confrontation Europe » organisation looks at this issue in great detail in this publication and explains why the lack of common foundations in the area of public services hampers the Lisbon Strategy. The latter aims to make the European economy the most dynamic in the world. In order to do this, Confrontation Europe looks at the Green Paper published by the Commission on the subject. The magazine subsequently underlines the need for a common definition of services of general interest.
*** ECB Monthly Bulletin. European Central Bank (29 Kaiserstrasse, D-60066 Frankfurt am Main. Tel: (49-69) 13440 - fax: 13446000 - Internet: http://www.ecb.int ). May 2003, 112 p..
As announced in the editorial, the monetary policy strategy of the European Central Bank has been the subject of a profound analysis by the Management Council. In addition, the presentation of the economic situation in the Euro-zone and the statistics related to it, as well as studies on issues such as the trends in prices of residential properties in the Euro zone, for example.