*** CHRISTOPHE DEGRYSE, PHILIPPE POCHET (Eds.): Bilan social de l'Union européenne. Institut syndical européen (5 bld du Roi Albert II, bte 5, B-1210 Brussels. Tel: (32-2) 2240470 - Fax: 2240502 - Internet: http: //http://www.etuc.org/etui ). 2004, 244 pp, 20 euros. ISBN 2-930352-50-7.
How is Social Europe doing? Once a year since 2000, the European Social Observatory headed by Philippe Pochet has looked at the question on the request of the European Trade Union Institute and the European Trade Union Confederation, supported by the Swedish institute Saltsa. Overall, the reply to the question for last year is decidedly mixed. The off-peak diagnosis was reached in the light of seven challenges that the authors describe as having structured social debate over the past year. French economist Jacky Fayolle leads the way by looking at the crisis in European macroeconomic governance. In the view of the Director of the French Institut de recherches économiques et sociales, things are far from clear - the single currency has contributed to a structural change whereby Europe has been provided with a potential monetary power, 'enabling it to break with the sacrificial road taken in 1980-1990'. The problem is that the leaders of Europe (meaning national leaders) cannot mobilise the potential power of the euro because of the lack of any cooperative approach between European institutional, political and social stakeholders.
The second challenge is that the European social dialogue has remained more than ever at the stage of seeking new points of equilibrium. It has been given the task of developing the substance of a more Social Europe through collective bargaining, notes specialist reporter Christophe Degryse, but deep differences between the strategies of the employers and the trade unions shed light on the lack of consensus between the social partners over what is to be achieved, and how it is to be achieved. He argues that the responsibility lies with the employers since they are still keeping at a distance vis-à-vis their trade union partners (who have an axe to grind in collective bargaining at EU level) and this lack of balance gives advantage to the side which speaks the least. Philippe Pochet follows on by explaining how changes to the European employment strategy, made during the economic downturn, were accompanied by pain and tension. He writes that the various visions of economic and social co-ordination have once again jeopardised the meshing of employment and economic policies. The Director of the European Social Observatory raises a genuine cry of alarm in this connection, since in the lack of any coherent meshing, we are currently witnessing slippage down the road to a purely economistic vision and a real weakening of the European social discourse. Sociologist Ramon Pena-Casas is just as alarmist, describing the European battle against social exclusion and poverty as being developed without actually influencing the heart of the economic model. He writes that the open co-ordination method did not lead to the formation of an integrated, strategic vision for dealing with the multiple challenges posed by poverty and social exclusion. And this does not bode well for the twenty-five Member State European Union with all its different situations, social protection systems and hierarchies of priorities.
Over and above these specific policies, the book goes on to look at the reform of the European institutions, vital for anyone wanting to see an ambitious and effective Social Europe. In this connection, Cécile Barbier criticises the unravelling carried out by the last Intergovernmental Conference, arguing that questions of influence and power overshadowed the very idea of European integration. Political scientist Eric Van den Abeele describes the unfavourable context against which the debate on services of general interest (utilities) is being held. The advisor to the Belgian Permanent Representation to the EU writes that the future decided for utilities by the EU will depend on the form of the European Community itself. He describes it as a big internal market, with completely liberalised trade, a model of society where citizens' fundamental needs and the preservation of public goods are kept as priorities. Finally, Dalila Ghailani writes a timely contribution on the vital role the European Court of Justice continues to play in the interpretation (and even the building) of a Social Europe, the danger being that some Member States will try to shield themselves from case law that they see as over-progressive.
Michel Theys
*** ROLAND SIGG, CHRISTINA BEHRENDT (Eds.): Soziale Sicherheit im globalen Dorf. Peter Lang (32 Hochfeldstrasse, Postfach 746, CH-3000 Berne 9, Switzerland. Tel: (41-32) 3761717 - Fax 3761727 - E-mail: info@peterlang.com - Internet: http: //http://www.peterlang.com ). "Soziale Sicherheit" series, No. 5. 2003, 566 pp. ISBN 3-906770-12-5.
The impact of globalisation on social security systems, particularly in OCDE and EU countries, is subject to detailed analysis in this book by the International Social Security Association, a global organisation of social security institutions and administrations with headquarters in Geneva (http://www.issa.int ). Eighteen essays by renowned international researchers look at the challenges of globalisation in terms of the financial basis of social security systems, internal adaptation strategies, the impact of migration, developments in labour markets and also poverty and social cohesion. The book provides a huge range of comparative data and nuanced conclusions that will enrich the political and scientific debate on the social impact of globalisation, providing facts, concrete examples and practical analysis. A French translation of the book is also available, entitled: "La sécurité sociale dans le village global".
(PB)
*** CEDRIC GUINAND: Die Internationale Arbeitsorganisation (ILO) und die soziale Sicherheit in Europa (1942-1969). Peter Lang (see above). "Europäische Hochschulschriften - Publications Universitaires Européennes - European University Studies", Series III, No. 948. 2003, 550 pp. ISBN 3-906770-95-8.
The reorganisation of social protection systems is a highly topical subject of concern for Europe politicians and citizens. A graduate of Saarbruck and Metz Universities, Cédric Guinand sheds light in this book, his doctoral thesis, on the historical origins of social protection systems after the Second World War in the six original founder countries of the European Community. Based on the reception of the famous 1942 Beveridge Report on social welfare in England, and the impact of the International Labour Organisation, Guinand's analysis covers the development during the 50s and 60s of social insurance provision and legislation in Belgium, the Netherlands, France, Germany, Luxembourg and Italy. A both interesting and detailed comparative analysis, although predominantly historical and descriptive.
(PB)
*** JEAN-FRANCOIS CAVIN (Ed.): Liberté économique et responsabilité sociale. Des corporations au mondialisme. Centre Patronal (2 route du Lac, CH-1095 Paudex, Case postale 1215, CH-1001 Lausanne. Tel: (31-21) 7963300 - Fax: 7963311 - E-mail: info@centrepatronal.ch - Internet: http://www.centrepatronal.ch ). "Etudes & Enquêtes" series, No. 31. 2004, 185 pp, 22 Swiss francs. ISBN 2-940089-13-2.
Employers are not a monolithic body completely sold out to the cause of capitalism. Economists, lawyers and political scientists (members of the Swiss Employers' Centre) point out in this publication that the search for a 'third way', equidistant between free trade and collectivism (whose eulogists still exist) has motivated entrepreneurs since the second third of the 19th century. As Jean-François Cavin explains in the preface, the third way makes links with the corporatism of yesteryear, attempting to revive it by pointing out 'the organic function of median communities that run specific activities in the direction of social goals without using state constraints'. The authors consider this against the backdrop of the economy which these days is too diversified and fragmented for it to be possible to determine how it operates simply through the activity, rules and honour of corporations. They therefore describe the interprofessional and federating organisations that have partially taken up the challenge because, as the book's author points out, 'social partnership remains a solid fact, even though it is less in the media than 'the triumph of big business and revolt by protestors following banners without a future'.
(MT)
*** LASZLO ZSOLNAI (Ed.): Ethics in the Economy. Handbook of Business Ethics. Peter Lang (see above). 2002, 331 pp. ISBN 3-906769-63-1.
In this book edited by the Director of the Business Ethics Centre of Budapest's University of Economic Science, lecturers and members of the inter-faculty business ethics group of the European Management Schools Community shed new light on the dominant business ethics in Europe. Theoretical arguments and empirical data, along with case studies, lead to the formulation of new approaches and potential solutions, based on the different authors' philosophical ideas.
(LD)
*** LETIZIA RITA SCIUMBATA (Ed.): I Trasporti nella Normativa europea. , Dott. A. Giuffrè Editore (40 via Busto Arsizio, I-20151 Milan. Tel: (39-2) 38089290 - Fax: 38009582 - Internet: http: //http://www.giuffre.it ). "Quaderni per la Ricerca" series, No. 14. 2003, 94 pp., 9 euros. ISBN 88-14-10318-6.
The EU's transport policy was the subject of a seminar at the Rome-based Alcide De Gasperi Institute of European Studies in 2002. The various contributions, by politicians (such as the soon-to-be Commissioner Rocco Buttiglione), researchers and practitioners, are published in this book, along with very useful references to Italian and EU transport regulations for the years 1999 to 2002. A brief introduction sets out the Italian perspective.
(PB)
*** JOOP SCHOPMAN: Transportation as a political issue. Peter Lang (see above). "European University Studies - Europäische Hochschulschriften - Publications Universitaires Européennes", No. 458. 2002, 178 pp. ISBN 3-631-39776-3.
Land transport has become a major political issue. The author, a lecturer based in Innsbruck, took inspiration from the road transport situation in the Tyrol to start his research into all aspects of transport. After describing the backdrop to the various costs (air pollution, noise, etc.) of traffic, Joop Schopman describes the measures taken to limit negative impacts, measures such as partial driving bans, improving the quality of public transport, developing inter-modal transport, etc. He then looks at more radical measures, convinced that it is nothing less than lifestyle itself that will have to be changed if we want to avoid driving headlong into a brick wall. Measures already taken or being considered in the United States, Switzerland and various U countries (like the Netherlands, Germany, the UK, France, Belgium, Italy and Sweden) are also considered in this highly comprehensive book.
(LD)
*** CHRISTIAN PHILIP: La taxation des poids lourds: un tournant nécessaire de la politique commune des transports. Délégation pour l'Union européenne de l'Assemblée nationale (Kiosque de l'Assemblée nationale, 4 rue Aristide Briand, F-75007 Paris. Tel: (33-1) 40636121 - Internet: http://www.assemblee-nationale.fr ). "Les documents d'information de l'Assemblée nationale", No. 1461. 2004, 102 pp, 5 euros.
ISBN 2-11-118548-5.
In this newsletter, French parliamentarian Christian Philip approvingly analyses the draft directive auhorising Member States to impose tolls on lorries using the trans-European Transport Network. The author comments, however, that the TEN-T is unlikely to smooth over the differences between transit Member States (Germany, Austria, France and the UK) and peripheral states and recommends a series of measures to ease the Commission's proposal into the logic of the common EU transport policy and the principle of subsidiarity.
(MT)
*** BERNARD JOUVE (Ed.): Les politiques de déplacements urbains en Europe. L'innovation en question dans cinq villes européennes. L'Harmattan (5-7 rue de l'Ecole-Polytechnique, F-75005 Paris. Tel: (33-1) 40467920 - Fax: 43258203 - E-mail: harmattan@wanadoo.fr - Internet: http: //http://www.editions-harmattan.fr ). "Logiques Politiques" series. 2003, 191 pp, 15.50 euros. ISBN 2-7475-4102-9.
Making public choice in terms of transport and town planning more coherent, better integrating transport policies (urban and inter-urban public transport, parking, road-building, bicycles and motorbikes, etc.), solving the problem of cost sharing between central and outlying areas, making metropolises more competitive by providing them with effective but environmentally-friendly transport systems - these are some of the challenges facing cities today. Through comparisons of five different European conglomerations (Geneva, Lyons, Munich, Naples and Stuttgart), this series of essays looks at cities' capacity to meet these challenges through innovative policies.
(LD)
*** The social and economic impact of airports in Europe. Airports Council International (6 square de Meeûs, B-1000 Brussels. Tel: (32-2) 5520982 - Fax: 5025637 - Internet: http://www.aci-europe.org ). 2004, 77 pp.
This research by York Aviation looks at the economic and social impact of airports in Europe based on data supplied by the airports of the 45 European countries belonging to the Airports Council International. It considers the markets of the countries in question, the economic impact of tourism involving air transport, how airports attract companies and how they impact on the economy at regional and national level. A clear, honest and attractive study, but it overstates the case with regard to the advantages of airports and displays amnesia in terms of the potential disadvantages - accidents over big cities, noise, pollution, catastrophes, etc.
(JNi)
*** The EUROPEAN COMMISSION (Official Publications Office of the European Communities, L-2985 Luxembourg. Internet: http: //publications.eu.int) has published the following document:
*** Innovation & Transfert Technologique. DG Entereprise, Information and Communications Unit (EUFO 2295, L-2920 Luxembourg. Fax: (352-4301) 32084 - Internet: http://www.cordis.lu/itt/itt-fr/home.html ). May 2004, No. 3/04, 28 pp.
At a time when achievement of the Lisbon Strategy targets seems to be slipping out of reach, this issue of Innovation & Transfert Technologique points out that it is essential, if one is to move towards the Lisbon targets, of moving beyond focussing on innovation in manufacturing alone and turning to service industries, which account for the lion's share of business turnover and employment but which could do better when it comes to organisational and procedural innovation. The newsletter wants Cinderella to be invited to the ball and to this end it provides a balance sheet of innovation in the tertiary sector, suggesting innovative routes that are opening up and highlighting the need to invest in IT and communications in order to compete with other parts of the world. The review also describes "Euro-Office", designed to promote innovative startups. Other articles look at a plan to help small businesses with innovation, and high speed internet connections.
*** 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 ). June 2004, No. 480, 70 pp, Annual subscription: 202 euros.
This newsletter includes two articles on the European Constitution. The first, a series of comments by Pascale Andréani (European affairs advisor to the French prime minister and the Secretary General of the SGCI), analyses the consequences for Europe in general and for France in particular of the motivations behind the Constitution, along with its method and future. The second article, by Daniel Vignes, the newsletter's Chief Editor, describes and comments on the various stages of the Constitution. An article by Gilles de Kerchove - Director at the Council's Secretariat General - describes the European Union's methods, principles and priorities with regard to combatting terorism, and other articles look at the Lisbon Strategy, Moldova and the adoption of a European directive on company takeovers.
*** Réalités industrielles. Editions ESKA (12 rue du Quatre-Septembre, F-75002 Paris. Tel: (33-1) 42865573 - Fax: 42604535 - Internet: http: //http://www.eska.fr ). "Annales des Mines". June 2004, 86 pp., 22.11 euros. Annual subscription (Réal. Ind. + another publication from the same series): 158 euros. ISBN 274720667-X.
This issue highlights business leaders, starting with an interview with on eof the leading businessmen of the twentieth century, François Ceyrac. It also looks at less obvious, though equally flamboyant, choices, captains of industry who have been mired in scandals like Enron, Crédit Lyonnais and Vivendi. A less colourful subject, but also a vital component mid-way between tools and product, industrial process advisors are also looked at in this issue. Other issues covered include setting up logistics and "sense-marketing".
*** Europe infos. Commission of Bishops' Conferences of the European Community - Catholic European Study and Information Centre (45 rue Stévin , B-1000 Brussels. Tel: (32-2) 2350510 - Fax: 2303334 - E-mail: debbichi-ocipe@tiscalinet.be). July - August 2004, No. 62, 12 pp, Annual subscription: 27 euros..
The editorial of Europe Infos regrets the lack of awareness of many European citizens of the need to vote to consolidate democracy, and the role of European unification with regard to sustainable peace in Europe. This issue of the review looks at progress with the Constitutional Treaty, opening accession negotiations with Croatia and the third summit of the EU, Latin America and the Caribbean. Commissioner Jacques Barrot gives his views on European solidarity and the Cohesion Policy, and there is an article on the Commission's new research guidelines.
Review in brief
*** La Flandre. No. 42. Ministry for Flanders -Foreign Affairs Administration. June-July-August 2004, Brussels. This issue looks at the celebrated diamond trade of the city of Antwerp.