*** JACQUES VANDAMME, STEPHANE RODRIGUES (Eds.): L'accès aux services d'intérêt économique général. Editions ASPE Europe (36 rue de Laborde, F-75008 Paris. Tel: (33-1) 43876014 - Fax: 43876891 edition@aspe-europe.com - Internet: http: //http://www.aspe-europe.com ). "ISUPE" series. 2003, 165 pp, 30 euros. ISBN 2-910777-13-8.
In the nick of time, the Convention on the Future of Europe will be looking in the next few days (on the Presidium's initiative) at a draft article on utilities ("services of general economic interest"). So this book is being published at the most appropriate moment possible since the entire book deals with utilities (which are viewed very differently by different Member States). Utilities, known as "services of general economic interest" in EU parlance, are starting to be considered at EU level, but some see public services as abusing free trade rules or at least as an exception to subsidiarity. Other people feel the time has come to move on from deregulation of public services in Europe to EU regulation, with the European Community positively defining the role of public services as one of the EU's objectives. This book's authors are members of the second school of thought and are even some of the most proactive supporters of this view, namely the head of the association "Initiative pour des services d'utilité publique en Europe" (ISUPE), Christian Stoffaës, who wrote the book's preface. On this occasion they joined up again with the "Groupe d'études politiques européennes", a Belgian member of the Trans European Policy Studies Association (TEPSA), a network of research institutions in all EU Member States which has been carrying out multinational research since 1974 into problems facing the future of European unification. This publication publishes a contribution from the above bodies which was initially presented at a conference organised with the Trier European Law Academy.
In his introduction, Stéphane Rodrigues, reader at Paris I University (Panthéon-Sorbonne), notes that the issue of accessing utilities is centre-field in the European political agenda, affecting as it does the highly consequential questions of universal service, obligation to provide services, continuity of service and solidarity with the less well-off in the name of social and territorial cohesion. Prof. Loïc Grard (Université Montesquieu, Bordeaux) explains that Article 36 of the European Charter of Fundamental Rights is more of a basic principles than right of access, and for this reason it would be a good idea to make things clearer in a utilities charter or in a framework directive. Beligh Nabli of the Florence European University Institute then defends the idea that access to utilities is a cornerstone of effective European citizenship since utilities form part and parcel of the concept of social citizenship.
The next three chapters provide illustrations of three areas where the right to access utilities is applied. Prof Olivier De Schutter (Université catholique de Louvain in Belgium) detects here "an instrument for promoting social rights in the framework of the Internal Market", arguing that the principle of subsidiarity does not contravene the need to define, at EU level, what constitutes the minimum level of service. Prof. Hélène Pauliat (Université de Limoges, France) sees access, in the absence of a town and country planing policy, as an instrument for promoting territorial and social cohesion, whilst Wouter Devroe (Professor at the Katholieke Universiteit Leuven, Belgium) takes a closer look at the idea of "universal service" in financial services. In the light of recent changes since the Barcelona European Council in March 2002 and the adoption of the Nice Treaty, Eric Van den Abeele, deputy head of cabinet at the Belgian economic affairs ministry, describes the future of utilities in Europe, listing areas to be debated, namely defining "services of general economic interest", refunding surcharges, and defining public service obligations. Christian Stoffaës makes the case in this book for the establishment of a European public service for electricity.
Michel Theys
*** LARS MAGNUSSON, JAN OTTOSSON (Eds.): Europe: One Labour Market? Presses Interuniversitaires Européennes and Peter Lang (Brussels. info@peterlang.com - Internet: http://www.peterlang.net ). “Work & Society” series, No. 30. 2002, 306 pp. ISBN 90-5201-949-5.
Fruit of the proceedings of a conference organised as part of the Salta research programme (Joint Programme for Working Life Research in Europe) and supported by the relevant European Commission DG, this book looks at the future of the labour market in Europe, the number of jobs and working conditions in the light of enlargement, integration and a homogenisation of parameters. Considering the enlarged European Union as a unit reaching the critical mass required when talking about "globalisation", this collection of essays by no less than twelve different contributors (including three from academia) outlines macro-economic impacts in such a series of countries with such different social histories, means and resources. What elasticity will there be in the labour market (in other words, how will the employer-employee relationship work in this set-up where it will be possible, with the aid of the Rome Treaty, to use manpower from areas far removed from centres of production?)? Where can bumpy areas of the playing field be predicted between current balances between workers (or their trade unions) in a particular country and between those workers and workers in neighbouring countries? This book attempts to answer these questions. It also considers the area of the capital-labour dialectic and the issue of intellectual, cognitive and human wealth with regard to mere manual labour which is all that most citizens can offer. The book is quite alarming when it comes to potential imbalances and the negative consequences of increased competition between workers whose pay is constantly being revised downwards, the feared swelling of the ranks of the unemployed for a series of macro-economic reasons that are extremely well documented from a technical point of view. It also indicates to what extent the author will once again have to use their power and their duty of regulation (under first the Maastricht Treaty and then the Amsterdam Treaty) to offset the potentially disastrous impact of enlargement to some extent with regard to the world of work. "Once again" because the book looks at shocks to the labour market in the 50s, 60s, 70s, 80s and 90s in order to see how they were absorbed back then since the present can take inspiration from the past to find its own solutions to future problems.
(PBu)
*** UMBERTO CARABELLI, BRUNO VENEZIANI (Eds.): Labour flexibility and the free market. A comparative legal view from Central Europe. Giuffrè Editore (40 via Busto Arsizio, 20151 Milano. Internet: http://www.giuffre.it ). 2002, 364 pp., 28 euros. ISBN 88-14-09694-5.
This academic book (produced as part of a research project funded by the Italian University Education Ministry) looks at deeply profound and rapid changes in three important countries soon to join the European Union (in June of next year), namely Hungary, Poland and the Czech Republic, from the viewpoint of moving towards a market economy and flexibility in the world of work. After a detailed introduction in which Aurora Vimercati makes a careful analysis of the complex nature of the processes underway in this part of Europe, the current changes experienced in each of the three countries under consideration (level of privatisation and foreign investment in the country) are meticulously analysed from the legal point of view.
(LD)
*** WINFRIED SCHMAHL, SABINE HORSTMANN (Ed.): Transformation of Pension Systems in Central and Eastern Europe. Edward Elgar Publishing (Glensanda House, Montpellier Parade, Cheltenham, Glos, GL50 1UA, UK. Tel: (44-1242) 226934 - Fax: 262111 - info@e-elgar.co.uk - Internet: http://www.e-elgar.co.uk ). 2002, 316 pp. ISBN 1-85898-769-5.
This book takes a detailed look at changes in the pension systems of central and East European countries; This subject is particularly interesting in that it concerns the current EU Member States just as much as the soon to join countries given the links to the economic, social and political worlds. Stakeholders and academics, the authors paint a picture of the transformation (still underway) of the pension systems of seven countries, namely Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, the Czech Republic, Slovakia and Hungary. The book is divided into two main sections. In the first section the editors (Winfried Schmähl is professor in economics at Bremen University in Germany, and Sabine Horstmann is a researcher based in Cologne) provide an overview of the pension system and describe the economic and demographic situation in this part of the world. In the second section, the issue is considered in detail, country by country.
(LNo)
*** GUY GROUX (Editor): L'action publique négociée. Approches à partir des "35 heures" - France-Europe. L'Harmattan (5-7 rue de l'Ecole-Polytechnique, F-75005 Paris). 2001, 334 pp. ISBN 2-7475-1690-3.
With regard to the issue of the working week, France adopted a radical position with the "35 hour" working week. It is, however balancing very precariously insofar as other European countries are watching developments very closely. A development that at the same time is impacting on the social movements and the political arena, without even counting how public opinion perceives the issue. This book provides a number of interesting points to explore, and also seeks to measure how this phenomenon pans out in a broader sense. it looks at the geographical implications but also the different questions it raises, particularly from a view point of its repercussions on methodologies employed in public action. This thematic is utilised very rigorously, based on a number of disciplines such as sociology, economics, history, political science and law.
(MT)
*** SOPHIE BOUTILLIER, MAURICE DECAILLOT, ON-KWOK LAI, FRANCOIS MAMBI, ANNE REIMAT, MARC RICHEVAUX, MARKUS SCHEUER, ELKE MARIA SCHMIDT, DAVID VALLAT, DON WEBBER: L'économie Sociale. Laboratoire d'innovations. L'Harmattan (5-7 rue de l'Ecole Polytechnique, F-75005 Paris. Tel: (33-1) 40467920 - fax: 43258203). " Cahiers de l'économie de l'innovation" series. 2002, No. 1, 236 p.. ISBN 2-7475-1764-0.
Will the economy of solidarity, this "salutary ghetto for social peace", become a solution to the now only too famous "social fracture"? Could it put a halt to this trend towards unhealthy bi-polarisation? The book is the result of the collaboration of several university academics and obviously does not bring any stock responses to the issue but does allow the reader to get acquainted with the "third sector", "this buffer zone between competition and the public sector" and that proposing "the delineation of a field of activities between the profit driven world and performance and that of employment and daily life". The authors provide an exploration of the history of the economy of solidarity, as well as a multitude of examples of its application, in France, the United Kingdom, Germany and Japan. In this age of new information technology and extensive debates on the question, the different contributors take an original and interesting approach in their analysis of contemporary problems, while allowing for a greater insight into an area that is generally not well known.
(AD)
*** JEFF KENNER: EU employment law. From Rome to Amsterdam and beyond. Hart Publishing (Salters Boatyard, Folly Bridge, Abingdon Road, Oxford, OX1 4LB. Tel: (44-1865) 245533 - fax: 794882 - e-mail: mail@hartpub.co.uk - Internet: http: //http://www.hartpub.co.uk ). 2003, 593 pp. ISBN 1-901362-69-8.
This book looks at developments in Community legislation regarding social affairs and employment, from its origins in the Treaty of Rome up to the Treaty Amsterdam. Each of these states of legislative development is studied in detail in this book in order to highlight the different analyses. Hence, the author, a Lecturer in Community law at the University of Nottingham, systematically traces evolution of social issues at the decisive moments of European integration. Via this approach, he l "demonstrates how social, economics and employment imperatives of European integration have always been linked". Not just of interest to those in the legal field, this weighty study is also address to those who have a certain interest in social affairs and Community construction.
(AD)
*** SIOFRA O'LEARY: Employment Law at the European Court of Justice. Judicial Structures, Policies and Processes. Hart Publishing (see address above). 2002, 316 p.. ISBN 1-84113-233-0.
This book examines the contribution of the Court of Justice on labour law and covers its political and economic dimensions, as well as through the legal structures in which European judges are obliged to operate. A graduate of the University of Dublin and the European University Institute of Florence, the author - who is legal Secretary at the Court - focuses on Article 234 of the Treaty regulating the rules on relations between the Court in Luxembourg and the different national jurisdiction in order to identify the specific consequences in the field of labour law. Siofra O'Leary also looks at the increasing power of Community employment policy, which compels the Court of Justice to take into account the sometimes very different social contexts. In the second part of the book, the author examines, by way of the jurisprudence of the Court, actual examples in this field such as free movement of goods and services, indirect sexual discrimination, the situation facing pregnant women and mothers, acquired rights etc.
(LD)
*** EUROPEAN COMMISSION (Official Publications Office of the European Communities, L-2985 Luxembourg. Internet: http: //publications.eu.int) has published the following documents:
*** Living in another country of the European Union. DG Internal Market (Tel: (00-800) 67891011 - Internet: http: //europa.eu.int/citizens). "Europe Direct" series. 2003, 17 pp..
This document is part of a series of guides published by the Commission to inform citizens and companies on their rights in the single market and which can enable them to take advantage of the opportunities open to them. The objective of these guides is not to cover all these rights and duties but to provide a practical idea. This document focuses on residency law and responds to the following questions: "To whom does this law apply?" or "What formalities are necessary?" Other subjects include moving personal belongings, registering vehicles and driving licenses.
*** Innovation & technology transfer. DG Enterprise, Direction Innovation (EUFO 2290, L-2920 Luxembourg. Fax: (352-4301) 32084 - Internet: http://www.cordis.lu/itt/itt-fr/home.html ). May 2003, No. 3/03, 28 pp..
This publication is aimed at companies and looks at the current European situation regarding innovation and technology transfer. This issue provides an insight into the political measures recently taken in this field, such as the recent Commission Communication on innovation policy. It also contains an article on innovation in candidate countries, which often face problems that are certainly sharper but also comparable to those experienced by companies in the Union.
*** Informe del Patronat. Patronat Català Pro Europa (Internet: http://www.infoeuropa.org /catala/publicacions/inf_semestral/grecia/cat/). 1st six months 2003, No. 8, 93 p..
This eighth information report by Catalan employers on the state of the Union explores the achievements of the Greek Presidency. This document is divided into different sections: political aspects, financial and institutional, internal policies, external relations, justice and home affairs and finally the balance sheet of the six months and the annexes. These different sections are tackled by highlighting subjects that are prioritised by the Greek Presidency, such as enlargement, the future of Europe, immigration and external relations.
*** Liaisons sociales Europe. Groupe Liaisons (1 Avenue Edouard-Belin, F-92500 Rueil-Malmaison. Tel: (33-825) 825371 - fax: (33-1) 44722027 - Internet: http//: http://www.ls-europe.com ). May-June 2003, No. 81, 8 pp, 31 euros. Subscription: 757.58 euros.
The main article in this issue is on Poland. It provides a balance sheet of the social situation in the country and replies to a variety of questions: "Who are the Social Partners?", "What is the relationship between them?", "What's happening to unemployment?" and "How is labour law represented in Poland?". Some of the other subjects tackled include, "Rights of European patients in other Member States" and pension fund management.
*** EAPN: Network News. European Anti-Poverty Network (37-41 rue du Congrès, Bte2, B-1000 Brussels. Tel: (32-2) 2304455 - fax: 2309733 - e-mail: team@eapn.skynet.be - Internet: http://www.eapn.org ). May 2003, No. 100, 8 p..
This social NGO in this "newsletter" published in five languages (French, English, German, Spanish and Italian), welcomes the progress in the European Employment Strategy, explaining that complementarity appears to be more accepted in the European Employment Strategy, the European Strategy on Social Inclusion and the main political guidelines.
*** In Europa. Centro In Europa (7/5 Via Ippolito D'Aste, I-16121 Genoa. Tel: (39-10) 540928 - fax: 5644356 - E-mail: segreteria@eurete.it - Internet: http://www.eurete.it ). 2003, No. 1, 68 p., 7.75 euros. Subscription: 61,97. ISBN 88-8163-228-4.
The "In Europa" publication aims to create an area for debating the theme of European integration. This issue focuses exclusively on Genoa, the capital of European culture in 2004. The magazine looks at the is port city, which is open to the outside world, together with its atmosphere, its, cultural and scientific contribution in European construction. Prestigious contributions include those of Azeglio Ciampi, the Italian president, Romano Prodi and Commissioners Reding and de Palacio.