*** Reflets & Perspectives de la vie économique. De Boeck (39 rue des Minimes, B-1000 Brussels. Distributed by: Accès+, 4 Fond Jean-Pâques, B-1348 Louvain-la-Neuve. Tel: (32-10) 482570 - Fax: 482519 - e-mail: acces+cde@deboeck.be). 2003, No. 3, 134 pp, 25 euros. Annual subscription: 75 euros. ISBN 2-8041-4228-0.
"Who's afraid of European Union enlargement?" The entire issue of this quarterly political review is dedicated to this question. Under the editorial coordination of Thierry Vissol, eight authors review the advantages and dangers of this unprecedented round of EU enlargement without hiding the fact that pitfalls, obstacles and problems exist and shouldn't be minimised. Advisor at DG Enlargement, Maurice Guyader makes the first contribution by presenting the key aspects and main outcomes of the accession negotiations, focussing on budget issues. David R. Cameron, Professor of Political Science at Yale University, then looks at the EU's capacity to deal with what he sees as the four main challenges facing enlargement, namely managing the Community acquis, implementing institutional reform, managing budget deficits and unemployment, and financing the new Member States. Professor Wladimir Andreff (of the Sorbonne) considers the end of the transition period in the new Member States from planned, centralised economies to market economies, suggesting that the process still has a long way to go (until 2014 perhaps) and could be costly on the social front. The actual problems facing the Czech Republic in this transition are assessed by Milan Sojka, lecturer at Prague and Brno Universities, with the reforms having led to a dual economy fuelled by modern, competitive companies, but with plenty of obsolete companies still weighing things down. Maria Dunin-Wasowicz, Director of European Studies at Warsaw's School of Commercial Studies, reviews the expectations of authorities and citizens in the biggest of the new Member States with regard to Monetary Union, revealing that the euro is more popular than Europe itself, and that joining the euro is seen as the step marking full membership of the European project. Jolyon Howorth, holder of the Jean Monnet Chair at Bath University, focuses on the Common Foreign and Defence Policy, showing that the initial Atlantic fervour of the new members is changing to focus more on Europe, and describing the criteria for this change of focus to continue into the future. Elisabeth Guigou rounds off the issue by sketching the domestic and foreign policy stakes and the political and institutional orientations necessary for enlargement to become a rapid success.
In his introductory essay, Thierry Vissol sets enlargement against a macro-economic, political and historical backdrop, describing three critical analyses of the fears that have been expressed. The economic threats are connected with the fact that the Gross National Product, by head of population, in the ten new Member States is much lower than in current Member States. Which means that huge transfers will be required which will weigh upon the EU budget and may destabilise it. The political threats are connected with the fact that the countries of central Europe have limited experience of parliamentary democracy, and the increase in the number of Member States will make it unavoidable to have a more complex, longer and more difficult decision-making process in the EU. Finally, geopolitical threats exist since the EU will have new neighbours to contend with. In terms of the acceding states, the threats are rising unemployment, reduction in social security, a more precarious economic existence, with rising prices but not rising incomes, etc. These factors, along with the 'apparent egotism' of the current EU Member States, could work favourably for nationalists and those harking back to the old regimes. Later in the introduction, Thierry Vissol draws an interesting parallel with the Marshall Plan, commenting that the changes experiences in the four cohesion states allow one to predict that the new Member States will catch up just as rapidly, if not faster.
Michel Theys
*** WIM KOK: Elargissement de l'Union européenne. Résultats et défis. Robert Schuman Centre for Advanced Studies, European University Institute (San Domenico di Fiesole, Italy). 2003, 90 pp.
This report, addressed to the European Commission. Examines the challenges and consequences of the upcoming round of European Union enlargement. Former Dutch prime minister Wim Kok presents an analysis from the European viewpoint, stressing the advantages of enlargement in terms of peace across the entire continent of Europe, of course, but also the increase in prosperity in Eastern Europe, leading in turn to better economic prospects for all Member States. Not to mention the EU's capacity to influence world events, which will be strengthened. Wim Kok then looks at the concerns and questions felt by citizens. In the current Member States, the main concern of European citizens is personal security, whether in terms of crime, food safety or the environment. In acceding countries, the main concern of citizens relates to economic and social affairs. The report then looks at progress already accomplished in the future Member States in terms of economic integration, and work which still needs to be done to ensure enlargement is a success story.
(MLe)
*** HORST GUNTER KRENZLER, ANIA KROK-PASZKOWSKA: Public Attitudes towards the EU in Candidate Countries. Robert Schuman Centre for Advanced Studies, European University Institute (see above). "Policy Paper", No. 03/2. 2003, 30 pp.
This Policy Paper looks at how citizens in the EU's future Member States think of the European Union and their country joining the fold. The polls which have been held to date suggest that most people support the idea of accession, but this support has diminished in recent years from the enthusiastic levels witnessed at the start of the process. The authors explain why this is the case, supported by statistics.
(SCh)
*** DANIELLE BOSSAERT, CHRISTOPH DEMMKE: Civil Services in the Accession States. New Trends and the Impact of the Integration Process. European Institute of Public Administration (P.O. Box 1229, NL-6201 BE Maastricht. Tel: (31-43) 3296274 - Fax: 3296296 - e-mail: m.simons@eipa-nl.com - Internet: http://www.eipa.nl ). 2003, 107 pp, 21 euros. ISBN 90-6779-173-3.
This research by two lecturers at the European Institute of Public Administration looks at the structure and organisation of civil services in the accession states, analysing common trends and differences. For several years now, the accession countries have been strongly encouraged by the Commission in the raft of sweeping reforms they have been implementing across their civil services. Much still remains to be done and the de-politicisation process is far from complete at this stage.
The authors consider the different civil service models the new Member States can take as a starting point. Most of the accession states are influenced by the western model, with the exception of Estonia, which prefers the Scandinavian model. Two different views of public service are then considered. While some countries look at the civil service in terms of career development, with promotion and salary increases being taken as read, others focus on a particular job or position, rather than a career progression, and therefore foresee no specific system of pensions or life commitment. The research also looks at areas of convergence and divergence in the civil services of the accession states. The comparison looks at several criteria - how the civil service is structured, recruitment procedures, pension systems, the role of managers, anti-corruption measures, career opportunities, training, etc. The authors also consider the issue of accession itself and the Europeanisation of civil services in the new Member States. They highlight that it is impossible to know in advance whether accession will lead to a Europe-wide civil service. Nobody can say for certain where the European influence on national civil services begins and ends. Some areas, like subsidiarity and proportionality and the institutional autonomy of states, tend to prove that a European civil service area is unlikely to be feasible. The authors conclude that the process of reforming the civil services is not yet complete. The main achievement of the new Member States in this connection was the passing of new laws based on the rule of law and democracy. The new step will be to implement these new laws as rapidly as possible to avert the danger of politicisation and corruption.
(MLe)
*** JUDY BATT, DOV LYNCH, ANTONIO MISSIROLI, MARTIN ORTEGA, DIMITRIOS TRIANTAPHYLLOU: Partenaires et voisins: une PESC pour une Europe élargie. Institut d'études de sécurité (43 av. du président Wilson, F-75775 Paris. Tel: (33-1) 56891930 - Fax: 56891931 - e-mail: institute@iss-eu.org - Internet: http://www.institute @iss-eu.org). "Les cahiers de Chaillot" series. 2003, 178 pp, 8 euros.
At the Thessalonica European Council of June 2003, Javier Solana defined the concept of security by describing the European Union's new strategic objectives. There are three in total: strengthening the international system; responding to new threats; and extending the security zone around Europe. On the latter strategy, the High Representative said that the EU's task was to promote an arc of well governed countries to the east of the EU and at its Mediterranean borders, with which it can have close relations based on cooperation. And this is the subject considered by researchers at the French Institut d'études de sécurité in the latest edition of the "Cahiers de Chaillot". As explained by Nicole Gnesotto in the preface, enlargement is opening the EU up to new challenges. Firstly, by reaching its functional limits, the EU will have to be able to exert on its neighbours an influence comparable with the influence it had during the past decade on central and Eastern European countries, but without being able to make use of the strict criteria to be met if the countries wished to join the EU. Next, all neighbourly or close proximity policies must strike a balance between regional and individual approaches. Finally, in the future, coherence and commitment will have to live in close symbiosis in the EU's foreign policy. It is in this framework that the research scientists at the Security Studies Institute consider the CFSP. Antonio Missiroli looks at changes in neighbourly relations, between stabilisation, integration and partnership. Dov Lynch considers the new Eastern dimension of the enlarged EU, while Dimitrios Triantaphyllou focuses on the Balkans, 'between stabilisation and accession', and Turkey. Martin Ortega raises the question of a new Mediterranean policy for the European Union. Judy Batt concludes the issue by analysing the regional dimension of the EU's new frontiers.
(AD)
*** ALINE GOHARD-RADENKOVIC, DONATILLE MUJAWAMARIYA, SOLEDAD PEREZ (Eds): Intégration des "minorités" et nouveaux espaces interculturels. Peter Lang (32 Hochfeldstrasse, Case postale 746, CH-3000 Berne. e-mail: info@peterlang.com - Internet: http://www.peterlang.net )."Transversales" series. 2003, 294 pp. ISBN 3-906770-44-3.
In recent weeks, with European Union enlargement becoming ever more topical, this book considers ways of integrating so-called minority groups in a very timely fashion. The integration of minorities is studied in central European countries, which are in the throes of negotiating (or re-negotiating) changed identities. François Ruegg starts by looking at the opportunities and dangers of political and social management of multiculturalism in central Europe, noting two major trends emerging in the new inter-cultural areas, parcelling out and integration, or maintaining and strengthening of national unity. Ivan Colonic then looks at the 'spiritual area' which is an important part of the political imagination of former Yugoslav states, while Albert Doja studies the necessary preconditions for stability and democracy in Eastern Europe. Milena Benovska-Sabovka comments that the cultural conditions and political will needed for the integration of minorities are present in Bulgaria, where the remaining obstacles are economic in nature. Finally, Calin Rus notes that intercultural education concepts and methods can be applied effectively in Romania if the specific nature of the situation are taken into account. The book does not restrict its field of analysis to Europe. Integration of minority groups is also observed in host countries like Canada, Switzerland and Greece, where the contribution by migrants is challenging traditional balance in all areas of public life. Finally, the phenomenon is studied in rapidly altering societies, from sub-Saharan Africa to Brazil, via the Andes.
(JSt)
*** Anclabes lhenguisticos na Ounion Ouropeia. Centre internacional Escarré per a les Minories Etniques i les Nacions (242 bis Rocafort, 08029 Barcelona. Tel: (34-93) 4443800 - Fax: 4443809 - e-mail: ciemen@ciemen.org - Internet: http://www.ciemen.org ). 2003, 149 pp. ISBN 84-8334-370-3.
This book arose from the debate that took place at an international symposium in Miranda de I Douro in April 2002 on the linguistic enclaves present in the European Union, in other words areas where people speak a different language from the one spoken in the adjacent zone. As far as the authors of the book are concerned, this concept covers a huge range of cases, characterised by different geographical, historic, social and linguistic factors. At present, as we stand at a key threshold in the world language homogenisation process, the function of linguistic enclaves is of special interest, since their very existence bears witness to the historical and cultural diversity of Europe. The book includes an article on the legal protection of the languages of the EU, describing several examples of the linguistic diversity of Europe, from Aragonese and Asturian in Spain, to Mirandese in Portugal, or Gaelic in Scotland.
(MRo)
*** Régions et communes d'Europe. Committee of the Regions, Press and Communications Unit (92-102 rue Montoyer, B-1000 Brussels. Tel: (32-2) 2822155 - Fax: 2822085 - Internet: http: //http://www.cor.eu.int ). February 2004, No. 41, 12 pp..
The first issue of the Committee of the Regions' newsletter for 2004, a year in which the CoR will celebrate its tenth anniversary, paves the way for the 11-12 February plenary session and looks back at the November 2003 plenary. The February plenary, to be attended by Michel Barnier, will have witnesses the election of a new President, First Vice-President and fourteen Vice-Presidents. Marking the European Year of Education Through Sport, it was also the scene of a debate on the impact of big sports events on the host community. The newsletter highlights the need for greater investment in research and greater decentralisation. It publishes an interview with Robert Savy, President of the Limousin region in France and former President of the 'Commission agriculture et développement rural', who describes the current concept of rural development as over-restrictive. The newsletter is available in both French and English.
*** Revue du marché commun et de l'Union Européenne. Editions techniques et économiques (3 rue Soufflot, F-75005 Paris. Tel: (33-1) 55426131 - Fax: 55426139- e-mail: editecom@starnet.fr - Internet: http: //http://www.editecom.com ). February 2004, No. 475, 69 pp. Annual subscription: 202 euros.
Maxime Lefebvre, responsible for European Affairs at the Institut français des relations internationales, has written an article on the aims of Franco-German cooperation, sketching relations between the two countries since Schuman and Adenauer's time. He highlight stumbling blocks but also progress that can be achieved by this avant-garde duo in the process of achieving a unified Europe which can then assert itself. Other essays compare the French pension reform with similar reforms in other European countries, the Common Agricultural Policy and public tendering. The regular column on freedom looks at the freedom of establishment.
*** Liaisons sociales Europe. Groupe Liaisons (1 av. Edouard-Belin, F-92500 Rueil-Malmaison. Tel: (33-8) 25800929 - Fax: (33-1) 44722027 - Internet: http//http://www.liaisons-sociales.com ). February 2004, No. 97, 8 pp, 32 euros. Annual subscription: 867.85 euros.
Liaisons sociales points out that the new merger regulation allows no greater a role for staff representatives than the previous regulation, which dates back to 1989. The review goes on to describe the forgotten improvements. Other articles look at social responsibility in SMEs, the signing of two agreements on working conditions on the railways, and the scheming resorted to by some companies to pay different rates of pay for the same work without falling foul of pay discrimination legislation.
*** Politica Exterior. Estudios de Politica Exterior SA (6 Padilla, E-28006 Madrid. Tel: (34-91) 4312628 - Fax: 5777252 - e-mail: revista@politicaexterior.com). January-February 2004, No. 97, 174 pp, 11 euros. Annual subscription: 89 euros.
The United States are given pride of place in this issue. Articles look at President Bush's efforts to ensure reelection, looking at the reality of the single-axis world led by the US and security in this connection. The United States' activity at the WTO against the European Union's stand against GMOs, described by the US as an illegal restriction on free trade, is also considered. Other articles look at Iraq, the CFSP and political culture in Spain, with Spaniards tending to describe themselves as internationalists, pacifists and multilateralists.
Reviews in brief
*** Afkar/Ideas. Estudios de Política Exterior. December 2003, No. 1, Madrid. The very first issue of a quarterly review looking at dialogue between Spain, Europe and Morocco. *** Art. 88-4 de la Constitution: textes soumis du 18 novembre au 18 décembre 2003. Délégation pour l'Union européenne de l'Assemblée nationale française. December 2003, No. 1320, Paris. This report analyses 32 proposals and draft EU legislation submitted to the French Assemblée Nationale by the French government. *** Cahiers du Japon. Japan Echo. Winter 2003, No. 98, Tokyo. This review is a digest of analysis and comment from Japanese newspapers. *** Russia Power. Pennwell Corporation. 2004, Dallas. An advance guide to the upcoming Russian Power salon being organised by Pennwell.