*** PAUL MAGNETTE (Ed.): La Grande Europe. Editions de l'Université de Bruxelles (26 av. Paul Héger, B-1000 Brussels. e-mail: editions@admin.ulb.ac.be - Internet: http: //http://www.editions-universite-bruxelles.be ). 2004, 403 pp, 30 euros. ISBN 2-8004-1332-8.
The outcome of interdisciplinary research carried out at the Institut d'Etudes européennes de l'Université libre de Bruxelles, this book matches the major event it looks at, which came into being on 1 May 2004, namely enlargement of the European Union with the joining of ten new Member States. Prof. Paul Magnette starts off by remarking that symbolically, Great Europe has renewed the ambitions born after the Second World War, of pacifying the entire continent. The fact that this majestic plan, verging on utopia even, is actually being carried out (after the parenthesis of the Cold War) should be enough to stimulate the wildest enthusiasm. But not a bit of it - enlargement sends nobody into reveries. In the new Member States, swallowing the 'Community acquis' sometimes looks like it's going to turn into a bout of indigestion. In the current 15 Member States, doubts prevail and as the Director of the Institut d'Etudes européennes comments, there is a huge temptation to see a sustainable European crisis being born. Wouldn't this lead to paralysis in Great Europe? In terms of the institutions, wouldn't it be forced to scale back its ambitions? Won't different levels of economic development inevitably fuel tension between states, suggesting impossible budget negotiations? And won't the greater geopolitical differences condemn the EU to close the lid on its dream of power? All these questions are haunting minds, although rarely formulated so frankly. The idea running through this book is that these predictions are not well-founded. The book is made up of four sections, each covering a different area of research (Institutions and Political Life, Regulating the European Market, An Area of Security, Justice and Liberty, and The European Union's External Relations), with the authors attempting to demonstrate that the alarmist predictions are unfounded.
Their message is composed of ten main theses. The first is that despite the Intergovernmental Conference delays, the constitutional order of the EU will be consolidated on the basis of the work carried out by the Convention. Because it will clarify its principles, structures and procedures in this way, the EU will conclude nearly twenty years of continuous institutional reform which, in Paul Magnette's view, announces the maturing reached by a political system when tensions cease to focus on the system itself and are transferred to the policies of the system. Secondly, the Constitutional Treaty will see the EU focus again on its vital missions because of the new type of powers it will have, decided upon by the 105 Convention Members. Third thesis - the EU is firstly an area of free circulation, the existence of a vast area free of obstacles is still the pivot of the European project and the dimension most directly experienced by citizens. The same will apply in the new Member States where, as Paul Magnette points out, the prospect of travelling, studying, working and purchasing in other EU countries without suffering discrimination is seen as the main advantage of the European project. Fourth thesis - market regulations softening and recent trends converging to make EU regulations more flexible and more of an incentive, so that implementation is more decentralised. Social policies will mostly remain in the domain of states, with only a flexible form of convergence based on general common targets, comparing national effort, emulation and mutual learning, being possible to be considered today. The seventh thesis put forward is that the EU's democratic deficit problem will not be resolved and the European Parliament will find it difficult to find its place in huge, sensitive areas (like foreign policy, defence, judicial cooperation, immigration and the like), while national parliaments attempt to join the European fray, more to ensure national prerogatives are respected than to debate European policies. The next two ideas are encouraging since 'from the outside' the EU is seen as a major success story and while not being a traditional power, it alters the global order. Finally, the tenth thesis is that euroscepticism will subsides, remaining confined to populist parties, according to the authors. They assert there will be a fading of idealism and enthusiasm for the European project. No doubt this will be the price to be paid by a European Union, which has been both strengthened and vulgarised…
Michel Theys
*** MICHAEL KEATING, JAMES HUGUES (Eds.): The Regional Challenge in Central and Eastern Europe. Presses Interuniversitaires Européennes et Peter Lang (1 av. Maurice, B-1050 Brussels. E-mail: info@peterlang.com - Internet: http://www.peterlang.net ). "Regionalism & Federalism", No. 1. 2003, 210 pp. ISBN 90-5201-187-7.
Enlargement of the European Union to ten new member states is a formidable challenge in and of itself, both for the EU and for the acceding countries. Of the latter, the countries of central and Eastern Europe (CEECs) will have to deal with another challenge on top of democratisation and changing to become a market economy, namely integrating into Europe that used to be a Europe of nation states but which, under the combined processes of integration and decentralisation of state powers seems to be becoming more and more of a Europe of the regions. But the CEECs have not followed the same path as Western European countries in terms of the formation of nation states, followed by the emergence of regions and the hazing over of the idea of a state. These differences are partly due to sixty years of forced separation behind the Iron Curtain, but also have roots in the much more distant past, connected with the influence of the three multicultural empires that divided the region among themselves, and also geographical distance from the maritime culture that came to life in the string of trading cities that later became these countries. This book studies the circumstances and implications, both for the current Member States and for the CEECs, of the integration and territorial restructuring of the CEECs. The restructuring has been the subject of contradictory signals from the European Union, touching on the sensitive issues of power sharing and national identity. (FRo)
*** DANIEL VAUGHAN-WHITEHEAD: L'élargissement de l'Union européenne: une fuite en avant ? 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 ). "Policy Papers", No. 5. 2003, 21 pp.
The conclusion of this Policy Paper, as slim as it is intense, opens with the comment that while the European Union has not let the historical opportunity of the reunification of Europe pass it by, it has neglected the strategic preparations for enlargement. Responsible for salary policy and working conditions at the International Labour Organisation, after having been responsible at the European Commission for social dialogue in the enlargement process, Daniel Vaughan-Whitehead sets out to identify the topics that it was not possible to cover in sufficient detail during the accession negotiations, detecting all the possible implications and illustrating various political paths that could be followed. He notes the huge needs of a farming world in crisis, the Cohesion Policy which is not of the scale to match existing inequalities, social affairs (seen as the poor relation of the negotiations) and what may be the 'deliberately ignored' risks of social dumping. In the author's view, all this combines to form an 'uncertain future'. (MT)
*** ALBERT F. REITERER: Cyprus. Case study about a Failure of Ethno-national Understanding. Peter Lang (1 Moosstrasse, CH-2542 Pieterlen. Fax: (41-32) 3761727 - Internet: http://www.peterlang.net ). "Minderheiten und Minderheitenpolitik in Europa" series, No. 3. 2003, 198 pp.. ISBN 3-631-50360-1.
This book deals with a hot topic of the moment, following the collapse of the Annan Plan for solving the problem of the division of Cyprus and the accession of the southern part of the island to the European Union. It sheds light on the historical, political, cultural and psychological wheels of the events leading up to the current situation. Neatly avoiding the trap of taking sides, the author outlines and comments on the changing situation, a case of misunderstanding, failure and withdrawing back into one's community. Overall, this makes a classic study for people interested in studying ethnic and national conflicts. At first sight, the details of the Cyprus issue ssem inextricable, but the author deals with them admirably, with deep consideration and hindsight.
(FRo)
*** MICHEL DUBOST: La Slovaquie en quelques facettes. L'Harmattan (5-7 rue de l'École-Polytechnique, F-75005 Paris). 2002, 176 pp, 15 euros. ISBN 2-7475-2869-3.
People still know very little about many of the new Member States. Slovakia is one of these little known states, and Michel Dubost, who lives in Central Europe, aims to introduce the country to travellers, businessmen and anyone interested in getting to know the new EU citizens. With a rather banal look about it, perhaps because of the printface, the book approaches Slovakia from a series of different angles, from history to the country's political scene, via its cuisine, women in society, ethnic composition and trade legislation. The author does not aim to provide a dry, scholarly text, but to help readers feel the essence of the country, through one layer after another, clear explanations and a degree of humour. Reading the book, one feels that the author is attached to the country, but using the right amount of well-targeted documentary and statistical evidence, the author anticipates readers' questions and provides enlightening and balanced information. (FRo)
*** WERNER GUMPEL (Ed.): Die Beziehungen der Türkei mit Deutschland und der Europäischen Union. Südosteuropa-Gesellschaft e.V. (49 Widenmayerstrasse, D-80538 Munich, Germany. Tel: (49-89) 212154-0 - Fax: 2289469 - e-mail: Suedosteuropa-Gesellschaft@t-online.de - Internet: http: //http://www.suedosteuropa-gesellschaft.com ). "Südosteuropa-Studien", No. 72. 2003, 127 pp, 19.50 euros. ISBN 3-925450-96-3.
Relations between Turkey and Germany, on the one hand, and Turkey and the European Union, on the other, are examined in this interesting collection of essays, the proceedings of an international conference held in Turkey in September 2001 with the support of the Südosteuropa-Gesellschaft, the Turkish Foreign Policy Institute and Akdeniz University of Antalya. The authors of the eleven essays, updated in 2002 and written in German and English, are politicians, diplomats and researchers from Germany and Turkey. One of the high points of the book is the covering of highly interesting topics that are often ignored, like economic relations between Turkey, the EU and Germany, the role that Turks play in EU countries in the perspective of integrating Turkey into the EU, and the impact on relations between Germany and Turkey of bilateral and regional problems like Cyprus, the Balkans and the Middle East. A very good introduction and excellent documentation regarding various aspects of relations between Turkey and Europe. (PB)
*** BARBARA DELCOURT: Droit et souverainetés. Analyse critique du discours européen sur la Yougoslavie. Presses Interuniversitaires Européennes et Peter Lang (see above). "Cité européenne" series, No. 29. 2003, 490 pp. ISBN 90-5201-179-6.
This book is the continuation of a doctoral thesis for the Political Science Faculty of the Université libre de Bruxelles. The academic tome takes an original look, with the benefit of hindsight, at the issue of European recognition of the new states that emerged from the former Yugoslavia in 1991-1992 against the backdrop of the construction of the European Union. Constantly moving back and forth between the history of ideas, political sociology, theories of international relations, diplomacy and the doctrine of international public law, Barbara Delcourt underlines the incoherence of European doctrine with regard to recognition of the Balkan Republics. Itself facing the challenge of the European project as a rational legal construct, the European Community, it is argued, was unable to define the new territorial and ethnic realities of the region and failing this, it created vague concepts of 'Federations of Nation States' or 'Post-national Communities' which fail to match the seriousness of the inter-ethnic threats. A mine of information about the Balkan Wars and pertinent ideas about the EU's political past and future. (NDy)
*** GABRIELLA SCHUBERT, WOLFGANG DAHMEN (Eds.): Bilder vom Eigenen und vom Fremden aus dem Balkan-Donau-Raum. Analysen literarischer und anderer Texte. Südosteuropa-Gesellschaft e.V. (see above). "Südosteuropa-Studien", No. 71. 2003, 370 pp, 31 euros. ISBN 3-925450-95-5.
The perception of other ethnic groups in the literature of South-East European countries was the subject of an academic conference in 1998 at Friedrich Schiller University in Iena. The conference proceedings - nineteen essays, occasionally highly specialised and historical, by researchers from Germany, Serbia, Romania, Belgium and Austria - are published in this book, aimed at specialists of the region with a particular interest in literature and the ethnology of the Balkan States. (PB)
*** Observatoire européen des drogues et des toxicomanies. Observatoire européen des drogues et des toxicomanies (23-25 Rua da Cruz de Santa Apolónia, P-1149-045 Lisbon. Tel: (351-218) 113000 - Fax: 131711 - e-mail: info@emcdda.eu.int - Internet: http: //http://www.emcdda.eu.int ). 2003, 18 pp, ISBN 92-9168-174-1.
This leaflet from the European Drug and Drug Addiction Monitoring Centre does not contain any statistics or data, properly speaking. It is in fact an introduction to the monitoring centre and its work,, describing its structure and operations as a vital tool of the European Union, through its publication of scientific information about drugs and its fight against the ever changing phenomenon of drug use.
*** Europe locale. Association Française du Conseil des Communes et Régions d'Europe (30 rue Alsace Lorraine, F-45000 Orléans. Tel: (33-2) 38838672 - Fax: 772103- e-mail: isabelle.fouache@afccre.asso.fr - Internet: http://www.afccre.asso.fr ). March/April 2004, No. 34, 30 pp, 6.10 euros. Annual subscription (France): 30 euros.
This magazine, published by the Association Française du Conseil des Communes et Régions d'Europe, considers the prospects for local autonomy and the forces at stake, in the form of a chronological frieze, starting with the Versailles Charter fifty years ago. It also includes a series of interviews, including the deputy minister for local freedoms, Patrick Devedjian, an article on local powers in Cyprus and other articles looking at European current events and local communities.
*** 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 ). April 2004, No. 477, 66 pp, annual subscription: 202 euros.
This issue includes an interview with the previous deputy minister for European Affairs in France, Noëlle Lenoir, about relations between France and Germany. Other papers consider the financial framework of the EU for the post-2006 period, 'euroised' states and regions (in other words, not members of the EU but where the euro is the main currency), social Europe and defence, and the WTO, racked by crises of growth and confidence.
*** The Federalist Debate. The Federalist Debate (26 Via Schina, I-10144 Turin. Tel. & Fax: (39-11) 4732843 - e-mail: federalist.debate@libero.it). March 2004, No. 1, 64 pp. Annual subscription: 15 euros.
Jointly published by international and European federalist movements, The Federalist Debate aims to actively promote the democratic realisation of globalisation. Some articles in the review look at European issues, like the Constitution, the Stability Pact and the Basque Nationalist Party (in an article entitled "Euzkadi: The Long Fight of the Basque Nationalist Party for a Federal Europe").
*** Europe Infos. Commission of the Bishops' Conferences of the European Community and the Catholic European Study and Information Centre (45 rue Stévin , B-1000 Brussels. Tel: (32-2) 2350510 - Fax: 2303334 - e-mail: debbichi-ocipe@tiscalinet.be). March 2004, No. 58, 12 pp, annual subscription: 27 euros.
Europe Infos makes an appeal for European civic duty at the upcoming European elections, the first to be held in twenty-five countries member states, but also commemorating the twenty-fifth anniversary of the first direct election of Members of the European Parliament. Other articles look at European solidarity, Poland and Croatia.
*** Liaisons sociales Europe. Groupe Liaisons (1 Avenue Edouard-Belin, F-92500 Rueil-Malmaison. Tel: (33-8) 25800929 - Fax: (33-1) 44722027 - Internet: http//http://www.liaisons-sociales.com ). April 2004, No. 101, 12 pp, 32 euros. Annual subscription: 867.85 euros.
This issue looks at the EU15's observation of the EU's delays in implementing the Lisbon Strategy. It outlines the three structural deficits identified by the Council and its proposals to create 'reform partnerships' in order to set up 'a conveyor belt between the strategy defined by the EU in Brussels and the policy that government apply'. Other articles look, for example, at continuous education and the Portuguese