*** INGRID BOCCARDI: Europe and Refugees. Toward an UE Asylum Policy. Kluwer Law International (P. O. Box 85889, 2508 CN The Hague, The Netherlands. sales@kli.wkap.nl - Internet: http: //http://www.wkap.nl ). "European Monographs", No. 31. 2002, 241 pp. ISBN 90-411-1709-1.
The "ultimate triumph of Western liberal democracy» as the “end form of human government” described in Fukuyama's “The End of History?” outlining hope for a new world arising from the ashes of the Cold War, is considered at the beginning of Ingrid Boccardi's book. The author is a graduate of University College London who is far from naive, noting that the new world order certainly does not signify the end of the cycle of refugees, noting that refugee crises are undoubtedly one of the most tragic events of this century and there is a high chance that this will continue into the next century. The United Nations High Commission for Refugees, in fact, estimates that there are twenty-two million refugees in the world, a tenth of them in Europe (making up 0.07% of Europe's total population). The problem of migration is an ugly squatter on national political agendas and the issue is being deported to EU level.
Most Member States continue to tighten up their refugee policy and are gradually turning toward the EU to provide an overall regional solution, notes the author. And the book provides new resonance precisely on the transnational dimension of the issue, highlighting the gradual changes to EU immigration policy. Analysed from a chronological and historical perspective, two areas of immigration policy are highlighted. First an assessment of the interest in an EU approach among the Member States which has gradually come to light over time. More particularly the author attempts to characterise the EU's coordination, methods and values and policy in application. The author then assesses the tangible impact of policies on effective protection of refugees, considering the compatibility of EU initiatives with the preceding measures (international human rights obligations). The first chapter describes of course the international legal framework which gave rise to EU policy in this area. The various ways of defining “refugees” are outlined to ensure readers have the necessary background knowledge for the rest of the book. The first five years after the Second World War are a key moment from this point of view as concerns the fate of refugees. The establishment of the United Nations marked the start of a new era in the globalisation of subjects forming part of international law, like respect for human rights, notes the author. The following years, however, demonstrated that people had really become aware of the fate of refugees, but the approach to the issue remained limited, separated off even, as a strictly domestic issue. The second chapter follows the first outlines of EU cooperation in the period when asylum and immigration were at last raised at EU level although responses remained at the national level. There is an in-depth examination of the “Schengen laboratory”. After considering the impact of the Maastricht and Amsterdam Treaties, the author considers the Austrian Presidency which, in 1998, turned asylum and immigration into central issues on its agenda. Ingrid Boccardi then draws her conclusions, first as a synthesis and then more proactive. First of all, she notes that even though the European Community should, in theory, makes its asylum policy concrete (as it has done for agriculture and fisheries, for example), the latest developments show that total harmonisation is not always seen as a feasible objective, despite the Tampere Declarations. Ingrid Boccardi then displays her expertise by outlining possible solution for the future. This is a high quality book, unhindered by moralising ideas about the issue it deals with but without giving in to the temptation to give a cold, impersonal description of an issue where one is little aware of the human agony involved.
Alain Dremière
*** Revue des Affaires européennes - Law & European Affairs. Editions Kluwer (326 av. Louise, bte 56, B-1050 Brussels. Tel: (32-2) 3003033 - Fax: 3003003 - customer@editionskluwer.be). 2001-2002, No. 5, 153 p., 85 euros. Annual subscription: 295 euros.
This issue of the Revue des Affaires européennes is entirely given over to the highly politically charged issue of asylum rights in the European Union. Politically charged because, as Prof. Marc Maresceau notes in the editorial, states are always loathe to share sovereignty in this area and are often subject to pressure from populist political parties with drunk with electoral success, forcing governments to focus as a priority on illegal immigrants.
Hence the interest of the detailed scientific research in this issue, introduced by MEP and former Commissioner Willy De Clercq. In the first in-depth essay, two Commission officials, Richard Lewis and Friso Roscam Abbing, analyse how the connection between asylum and illegal immigration is seen at EU level, helping readers understand some of the Commission's initiatives.
Kris Pollet takes a detailed, critical look at the basic standards for asylum procedures and reception conditions for asylum seekers proposed by Commissioner Antonio Vitorino's department, in which he criticises prior detention of some asylum seekers. Johannes van der Klaauw, who represents the United Nations High Commission for Refugees at the European institutions, considers the EU's policy in the light of the Geneva Convention and makes a strong case for a formal partnership between the EU and the High Commission for Refugees.
The next five essays outline asylum policy in Germany, the UK, France, Belgium and Italy, and how the refugee and asylum seeker issue is seen in those countries. The last two essays look at the link between asylum policy and combatting crime, concentrating on human trafficking.
(MT)
*** FRANCESCA LONGO (Ed.): The European Union and the Challenge of Transnational Organised Crime. Towards a Common Police and Judicial Approach. Dott. A Giuffrè Editore S.p.A. (40 Busto Arsizio, I-20151 Milan. Tel: (39-2) 38089290 - Fax: 38009582 Internet: http: //http://www.giuffre.it ). "Università di Catania, Pubblicazioni della Facoltà di Scienze Politiche", No. 12. 2002, 115 pp, 10 euros. ISBN 88-14-09646-5.
Seven authors, mostly academics, join forces and share expertise in this book under the leadership of Francesca Longo (of Catania University in Italy), in attempting to define current police integration policy at European level for dealing with crime at the European level, from the European, national and EU points of view.
The first section gives the reader information about the history and theory of European policy integration, work and progress to date in establishing police and judicial cooperation and attempts to create a single model for EU cooperation to combat transnational crime. The second part of the book explores the theory of “organised crime” in greater detail (how it is defined at national, European and US level) and Italy's experience of organised crime.
The third part looks at the possibility of harmonising penal systems becoming an EU objective along with Europol's role and activity and all that represents in terms of limits, obstacles and restrictions. The book is extremely detailed and carefully researched.
(FOc)
*** BARBARA PIATTOLI: Cooperazione giudiziaria e pubblico ministero europeo. Giuffrè Editore (see above). "Università del Piemonte Orientale "Amadeo Avogadro", Memorie della Facoltà di Giurisprudenza" series, No. 5. 2002, 267 pp, 21 euros. ISBN 88-14-09900-6.
In this specialist research, the author looks at the emergence of a common legal area within the EU, analysing its foundations in primary EU law, starting with the Treaties and Charter of Fundamental Rights. Faced with the challenge of international crime, Piattoli then looks at the third pillar's instruments and policies, highlighting back-up structures for investigations by magistrates and judges and considering OLAF, Eurojust and relations with Europol. The book ends with a chapter on the possible establishment of a European Prosecutor to combat, for example, fraud cases against the EU's financial interests. A detailed publication, looking at a complex area that is one of the biggest political and legal challenges facing the European Union.
(PB)
*** JILL WAKEFIELD: Judicial Protection through the Use of Article 288(2)EC. Kluwer Law International (see details attached). Collection "European Monographs", n° 36. 2002, 330 p., 110 euros. ISBN 90-411-1823-3.
The responsibility of the Union's Member States is only engaged in so far as they have an obligation to apply Community law at their respective national level. The only failing they could be reproached with in this respect is that of failing to comply with Article 10 EC defining the prevalence of Community provisions over Member State law and administration. And the corollary to this is individual law. On the other hand, the Community's obligation cannot be summed up as overseeing the Member States and the corollary to this is not necessarily individual law. Through a series of rulings aimed at penalising the European Institutions in the case of "bad administration" that has affected individuals, the Court of Justice has gradually clarified and extended the scope of Article 288(2)EC which, in its most complete form, governs the obligation imposed on Community Institutions to put right any harm they have caused. The immense consequences that could arise from a partisan interpretation of the duties and rights of each of us in the case of dispute between individuals and the Institutions led Advocate General Roemer to state in a somewhat sibylline way (that revealed, however, how complex the subject is) that this Article comprised something "new" as well as "dangerous". The subject, despite its apparent initial simplicity, opens wide the door of the unending universe of civil, public and administrative liabilities with its maze of notions such as "fault", "damage", "causal link", "refund and/or repair of harm done", "immediate, consecutive or non consecuritive, financial or non-financial losses". Jill Wakefield, who had made this problem the subject of her thesis defended at University College London in 2001, makes a knowledgeable and critical plunge into this complex universe fashioned by Court of Justice case law.
(FOc)
*** CHRISTOPH PAN, BEATE SIBYLLE PFEIL: Minderheitenrechte in Europa. Handbuch der europäischen Volksgruppen, Band 2. Braumüller (Universitäts-Verlagsbuchhandlung Ges. m. b. H., 5 Servitengasse, A-1092 Vienna. Tel.: (43-1) 3191159 - fax: 3102805 - e-mail: office@braumueller.at - Internet: http: //http://www.braumueller.at ). Series "Ethnos", n° 61. 2002, 583 p.. ISBN 3-7003-1422-1.
The legal situation of minorities present in over 35 European countries is presented in this work which can be used as a reference guide on this very important subject as a further Union enlargement dawns. The authors, a professor of sociology and a jurist working in the southern Tyrol, offer a panorama covering nearly all European countries (except Cyprus and the micro-States that have less than one million inhabitants). The publication is made all the richer by standardised comparative tables that give information at a glance for each country on the criteria and fundamental rights guaranteed to minorities recognised by the national legal system. Unfortunately, whereas the analyses pertaining to the other countries are kept updated and diversified, information on Turkey, a particularly interesting country with regards the situation of minorities, is mainly based on a single source, which is, moreover, rather out of date (1993). Nonetheless, the work is useful for researchers, journalists and political decision-makers who wish to be informed on the various national legislations relating to minorities in Europe.
(PB)
*** SEBASTIEN VAN DROOGHENBROECK: La Convention européenne des droits de l'homme. Trois années de jurisprudence de la Cour européenne des droits de l'homme 1999-2001. Larcier (distribution: Accès+, 4 Fond Jean-Pâques. Tel.: (32-10) 482500 - fax: 482519 - e-mail: acces+cde@deboeck.be). In the series "Les Dossiers du Journal des tribunaux", n° 39. 2003, 288 p., 70 euros. ISBN 2-8044-1030-7.
Increasingly prolific, the European Court of Human Rights issued a mere 1,760 rulings between 1 January 1999 and 31 December 2001. Hence the interest of this work which presents the case law that has accumulated over these three years. Responsible for research at the FNRS and teacher at the University Faculty Saint Louis in Brussels, Sébastien Van Drooghenbroeck has, in his selection (which was imperative …), given preference to fundamental judgements and reversal of precedence, as well as those which clearly affirm the continuity of solutions that are, however, the object of doctrinal proceedings. He was careful not to give inference of greater importance to rulings of the High Chamber compared to the simple section rulings, or to rulings reached by opposition to simple decisions on admissibility, and it is true that the leading cases are not always to be found where they are expected. Particular emphasis is placed on the decisions and rulings made regarding Belgium. An alphabetical table of rulings and decisions cited are given at the end of the publication, providing help for the reader.
(MT)
*** EUROPEAN COMMISSION (Official Publications Office of the European Communities, L-2985 Luxembourg. Internet: http: //publications.eu.int) has published the following documents:
*** Agenda Social. DG Employment and Social Affairs, documentation centre (B-1049 Brussels. Fax: (32-2) 2962393 - E-mail: empl-info@cec.eu.int). April 2003, No. 5, 20 p..
In April the Commission presented a proposals for revising the guidelines for its employment policy. It has defined ten priority action areas. It is in this context that the magazine analyses the future of pensions, the price of inadequate social policies and the new objectives of the European strategy for employment and working conditions. A special article focuses on the integration of disabled people.
*** L'Observateur OCDE. Editions de l'OCDE (2 rue André Pascal, F-75775 Paris Cedex 16. Tel.: (33-1) 45248200 - fax: 45248210 - E-mail: observer@oecd.org - Internet: http://www.observateurocde.org ). May 2003, No. 237, 58 p. Subscription: 50 euros.
In its editorial, the OECD Federal Secretary, Donald Johnston, reiterates his trust in multilateralism, that has been subject to certain problem in the Trans-Atlantic arena. This issue focuses on the increasing disparities in growth within the OECD, the need for reforms in Germany, the problems for tourism, the benefits of information and communication technology, and the dangers of asteroids.
*** Politica Exterior. Estudios de Politica Exterior (6 Padilla, E-28006 Madrid. Tel.: (34-91) 4312628 Fax.: 5777252 - Internet: http://www.politicaexterior.com - E-mail: revisita@politicaexterior.com). May- June 2003, No. 93, 207 p. 10,50 euros. Subscription: 86 euros.
This issue is obviously affected by the fallout from the war in Iraq. Around fifteen articles focus on these consequences, as well as those by Hubert Védrine and de Dominique de Villepin. Subjects covered include relations with the Middle East, Spanish external policy, reconstruction in Iraq and the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction.
*** Rivista di studi politici internazionali. (40 Lungarno del Tempio, I-50121 Firenze. Tel: (39-55) 666384). April- May 2003, No. 278, 160 p.. subscription: 62 euros.
In this quarterly, the magazine analyses the clash of European and Islamic values, relations between Turkey and the Union and the famous road map. It also explore the future of Europe, NATO perspectives and the status of the treaty of Rome since the Second world War. The publication also has a number of documents such as Resolution 1377 of the Security Council on the war against terrorism, the declaration of Rome on common European values communes and the Constitutional charter of Serbia- Montenegro.
*** 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 ). June 2003, No. 82, 12 p., 31 euros. Subscription: 757,58 euros.
This publication celebrates keeping the social acquis in the draft European Constitution. This issue also includes a main article on the tenth congress of the European Confederation of Trade Unions (ETUC), held in Prague from 26 - 29 May and where the organisation set itself the objective of defending the European social model in the framework of the European future Constitution; enlargement and strengthening of social cohesion.
Reviews in brief
*** Régions and Localities of Europe. Committee of the Regions. No. 39, April 2003. This newsletter looks at the last two assemblies of the Comittee of the Regions. *** Paneuropa Intern. Paneuropa-Union Deutschland. No.7, June 2003, München. This issue looks at the closer relations between the Union, the Balkans and Eastern Europe. *** Infoeuropa. Patronat català pro europa. No. 1, January - April 2003, Barcelona this new employers quarterly is written in Spanish and English. *** Activities Report 2002. European Investment Bank. 2003, Luxembourg. Activities report including version on CD-Rom. *** Look Japan. Look Japan Ltd. No. 49, July 2003, Tokyo. The magazine looks at the "power of attraction" wielded by Tokyo. *** Polynews. European association for textile polyolefins. No. 26, May 2003, Brussels. This bi-annual publication looks at the current situation for polyolefins.