*** ANNA MICHALSKI: The Lisbon Process. Lack of Commitment, Hard Choices and the Search for Political Will. Netherlands Institute of International Relations “Clingendael” (Clingendael 7, P.O. Box 93080, NL-2597 VH The Hague. Tel.: (31-70) 3245384 - Fax: 3746667 - E-mail: research@clingendael.nl - Internet: http: //http://www.clingendael.nl ). "Clingendael Study" series, No. 23. 2004, 47 pp, €12.50.
In a few weeks time, the Lisbon Strategy will be the focus of the Spring European Council, where it will be fine-tuned and given a mid-term revamp. It has already given rise to a huge amount of scientific literature. This brief yet highly penetrating study is innovative in the sense that it does not aim to provide yet another analysis of the ambitious targets ascribed by European politicians to the European Union and its Member States for 2010, or the delays that have led to a huge gap these days between words and deeds. The author briefly, and very usefully, recalls the changes in the Lisbon Process from the European Council of March 2000 to the Kok Report, but her aim is not to plunge into the fog just to see why pilots so bad at driving the new type of political and institutional vehicle they have provided themselves with.
Former member of the European Commission's Forward Studies Unit, Anna Michalski is now a researcher at the renowned "Clingendael" Institute in The Hague. In this book, she first aims to set out the political dynamics underlying the Lisbon Process. She starts by pointing out that the process is not a programme. First of all, she makes a very convincing argument that the Lisbon Strategy is like a pot-luck supper, where everyone turns up and adds their own special spice blend to the meal. For some people, it is economics, with 'competitiveness, productivity, growth and also macroeconomic stability and public finances'. For others, it's social affairs, with 'social cohesion, employment and social dialogue' in the firing line. Others focus on the environment, wanting the Lisbon Process to prioritise 'transforming current consumption models into sustainable development of society'. … All highly political choices that hardly help form an unequivocal interpretation of the Strategy, or convergent action. Add to this the fact that from the viewpoint of the European project, the Lisbon Process is a new phenomenon, being neither a legislative programme like the Common Market, nor a project with clear responsibilities and deadlines, like for the euro. In fact, comments Anna Michalski, Lisbon combines political commitments that are partly the outcome of European legislative programmes with the desire of the Member States to take action in certain areas. This means the Community Method has ceded pride of place to new forms of governance, like the Open Coordination Method, with the institutional architecture supporting Lisbon being far more fragile and, crucially, far more dependent on the political commitment of national leaders meeting on the European Council, and the good will of national administrations.
Following on from this general political analysis, Anna Michalski then takes a fine toothcomb to the institutional weaknesses that have engendered the current disenchantment. All the institutions are guilty of it. Starting with the various formations of the Council, but the Commission does not escape its share of criticism any more than the Council, with the author having no qualms about diagnosing a war between departments at the Commission, or at least a failure to properly coordinate work to be done under the heading of the Lisbon Strategy. Anna Michalski focuses on the lack of popular legitimacy for the Lisbon Strategy, which naturally leads her to make a strident case in the list of recommendations that run through the book for greater involvement of parliaments in the future, both at European level and in the Member States. She does not have too many illusions, however, commenting with lucidity that at the end of the day, the success or failure of the Lisbon Process will depend on the level of political will European leaders want to put into it and are capable of demonstrating.
Michel Theys
*** Parität EU-Arbeitshilfe. Die Freie Wohlfahrtspflege als Grundpfeiler der Daseinsvorsorge - Herausforderungen europäischer Wettbewerbspolitik an die regionalen Strukturen der Daseinsvorsorge. Paritätische Verlagsgesellschaft (3 Heinrich-Hoffmann-Straße, D-60528 Frankfurt-am-Main. Tel: (49-30) 24636414 - Fax: 24636110 - E-mail: verlag@paritaet.org). 2004, 51 pp, €5.
Published by the European office of the German association of social partners (employers and trade unions, the Paritätischer Wohlfahrtsverband), this practical guide outlines the challenges posed by the European Union's competition policy to local and regional structures for the provision of social services. Key terms like 'public aid', 'economic activity' and 'services relevant to the market' are examined in detail. Brief but dense, this brochure is studded with recommendations to the bodies responsible for providing social services and local and regional level to ensure they benefit from the greatest level of legal security in this complex area, so sensitive for European citizens. The publication is not scientific in nature, but provides social institutions and social work practitioners with basic information about relevant EU policy, legislation and jurisprudence. Clear and detailed information which merits careful reading in these days of public controversy at the highest political level concerning the draft general directive on services.
(PB)
*** GIACINTO DELLA CANANEA (Ed.): European Regulatory Agencies. Isupe Press - Editions Rive Droite (58 av. de Wagram, F-75017 Paris). "Isupe" series. 2004, 219 pp, €30.
'Initiative pour les services d'utilité publique en Europe', an association chaired by Christian Stoffaës , established with the aim of developing reflection on public services in the Single Market, and the 'Groupe d'études politiques européennes', Belgian member of the Trans-European Policy Studies Association (TEPSA), have joined forces following a seminar in June 2003 to publish this book on the European regulatory agencies. This issue is very topical since alongside two dozen agencies carrying out executive tasks in areas like food safety and the evaluation of medication, there are others, like the Aviation Safety Agency, which have regulatory and standardisation powers. Moreover, new agencies are currently in the pipeline, like a Defence Agency or a Human Rights Agency. Hence a series of questions arise, the first one being whether there really is a need to create so many independent authorities. The second question concerns the delegation of powers to these agencies. The old ruling of the European Court of Justice in the Meroni case still seems to be an obstacle to the delegation of power, but some specialists believe this can be got round because it is not possible to wait indefinitely for a contrary ruling from the Court of Justice, when the Constitutional Treaty does not provide a legal basis for the establishment of such agencies. The authors examine indirect methods, like 'institutional agreements' or recourse to Article 308 (formerly Article 235).
(ABe)
*** GERHARD FINK, ANNE-KATRIN NEYER, MARCUS KOLLING, SYLVIA MEIEREWERT: An Integrative Model of Multinational Team Performance. Europainstitut der Wirtschaftsuniversität Wien (39-45 Althanstrasse, A-1090 Vienna. Tel: (43-1) 313364135 - Fax: 31336758 - e-mail: europafragen@wu-wien.ac.at). "EI Working Paper", No. 60. 2004, 53 pp, €7.20.
This study by Austrian researchers aims to provide an explanation of the managerial implications of the setting up of multinational teams. The authors first look at four categories of variables that can have a decisive influence on the performance of multinational teams, like universal values, standards of behaviour, perceptions of others and of the self, and personality traits. The impact of these variables is influenced by the size of team, the nature of their work, training opportunities, power and interests. The four researchers explain that the process of setting up the teams is particularly important, being capable of neutralising countervailing effects and false perceptions.
(MT)
*** PIERRE BLAISE: Les associations sans but lucratif. Centre de Recherche et d'Information Socio-Politiques (1A place Quetelet, B-1210 Brussels. Tel: (32-2) 2110180 - Fax: 2197934 - e-mail: crisp@cfwb.be - Internet: http: //http://www.crisp.be ). "Dossiers du Crisp" series, No. 62. 2004, 78 pp, 7.50 euros. ISBN 2-87075092-7.
This "Dossier du Crisp" looks at the mushrooming of non-profit making associations in Europe, looking back over the main stages in the history of this type of association and the freedom of association in Belgium, before providing sociological explanations of this very important social reality and analysing the economic role of such structures. New legislation covering non-profit making associations is also analysed.
(MT)
*** LIVER TREIB, GERDA FALKNER: The first EU Social Partner Agreement in Practice. Parental Leave in the 15 Member States. Institut für Höhere Studien (56 Stumpergasse, A-1060 Vienna. Tel.: (43-1) 59991-237 - Fax: 59991-555 - E-mail: library@ihs.ac.at - Internet: http://www.ihs.ac.at ). "Reihe Politikwissenschaft - Political Science Series", No. 96. 2004, 21 pp., €6.
In this publication, two Austrian researchers analyse the impact of measures taken in the fifteen old Member States following the adoption of the parental leave directive. The directive was the first to be passed in 1995 through prior agreement negotiated between the European social partners and has been subject to a degree of scepticism from many observers. The authors of this study show that the directive has, however, led to significant political reforms in most of the Member States of the time, not only in terms of adjusting to the new minimum standards it sets, but also through a series of voluntary reforms it has encouraged. Treib and Falkner argue that this means that the directive has greatly facilitated the balance between professional obligations and family life.
(LD)
*** MICHEL MANGENOT, ROBERT POLET: Dialogue social européen et fonction publique. Une européanisation sans les Etats ? European Institute for Public Administration (22 O. L. Vrouwplein, P. O. Box 1229, NL-6201 Maastricht. Tel.: (31-43) 3296222 - Fax: 3296296 - E-mail: eipa@eipa-nl.com - Internet: http: //http://www.eipa.nl ). 2004, 161 pp, €27. ISBN 90-6779-194-6.
This publication by the Maastricht-based European Institute of Public Administration returns to the topic covered by the previous issue in the series, considerably widening its scope. Since 1995, the European social partners have signed six inter-professional agreements. Three of them were implemented by a directive, with the social partners substituting themselves for the Member States meeting at the Council or European Parliament. For the two specialists who penned this book, the fruit of work commissioned by the 'Direction Générale de l'Administration et de la Fonction publique' in France, this form of managing professional relations is a significant change in the political regulations of the European Union, developing a different institutional order from the one organised by representative democracy. Against this backdrop, Michel Mangenot and Robert Polet look more specifically at the civil service within European social dialogue since the framework agreements negotiated among social partners are negotiated in the absence of the state (the employer) although they apply (as constant case-law from the European Court of Justice leaves no doubt) to 'all' workers. They discern here a new, very specific, form of Europeanisation of the administration occurring outside state channels. This is the first book to consider the 'public dimension' of European social dialogue, and the two authors start by setting a reference framework for the development of the management of professional relations, before going on to describe the institutional dynamic of social dialogue since 1984. They then take a more specific look at the 'outcomes' of social dialogue in both the inter-professional and sectoral dimensions. The fourth part of the book focuses their meticulous analysis on the social partners involved in the dialogue and their relations to one another against a sociological backdrop since each of them seem to the authors to be caught up in a network of tensions. Finally, they look at the prospects for organising representation of the state employers and the conditions under which formal sectoral social dialogue could be organised in central public administration (the central civil service).
(MT)
*** PASCALE JOANNIN: L'Europe, une chance pour la femme. Fondation Robert Schuman (29 boulevard Raspail, F-75007 Paris. Tel.: (33-1) 53638300 - Fax: (33-1) 53638301 - E-mail: n.clugnet@robert-schuman.org - Internet: http://www.robert-schuman.org ). 2004, 84 pp, €10. ISBN: applied for.
In the twenty-second issue of the "Note de la Fondation Robert Schuman", Pascale Joannin, Director of the foundation, makes a comparative study of the role of women at the level of the twenty-five EU Member States. In the first part of the book, she analyses existing disparities between countries, whether in terms of professional equality or participation in political life. Over and above the North-South divide, a number of disparities exist among Member States. Enlargement led to a slight fall in the percentage of women in employment in the EU. In terms of political parity, women are still under-represented everywhere , with huge disparities once again between North and South Europe. The second part of the book illustrates the decisive role of the European Union in terms of reducing inequality between men and women. The European Union has gradually developed sexual equality legislation and a series of financial resources and dedicated structures. The trend seems to be moving in the right direction today, which leads the author to affirm that Europe provides opportunities for women.
(STu)
*** The EUROPEAN COMMISSION (Official Publications Office of the European Communities, L-2985 Luxembourg. Internet: http: //publications.eu.int) has published the following document:
*** Inforegio Panorama. DG Regional Policy, Unit 01 "Information and Communications" (41 av. de Tervuren, B-1040 Brussels. Fax: (32-2) 2966003 - E-mail: regio-info@cec.eu.int - Internet: http: //europa.eu.int/comm/dgs/regional_policy/index_fr.htm). December 2004, No. 15, 28 pp.
The Indian Ocean tsunami in December tragically illustrated the importance of international solidarity and coordination in the event of natural disasters and this is the topic of the main dossier in this issue, the first issue to be published under the mandate of Danuta Hübner, the new Regional Policy Commissioner. It describes the main instrument of European solidarity for natural disasters, the EU Solidarity Fund, set up following the tragic floods in Germany in Summer 2002. It has since proved its utility as is shown in the examples outlined in the review, which also looks at risk prevention, one of the main priorities of the Structural Funds for 2007-2013.
*** Revue du marché commun et de l'Union européenne. Les Éditions Techniques et Économiques (3 rue Soufflot, F-75005 Paris. Tel: (33-1) 55426131 - Fax: (33-1) 55426139 - E-mail: editecom@starnet.fr - Internet: http//http://www.editecom.com ). January 2005, No. 484, 68 pp.
This issue opens by looking at a topic that never ceases to come up, namely the Constitution. But this time, it is the Treaty establishing a Constitution for Europe at the French Conseil Constitutionnel. The procedure has already been used (for the Maastricht and Amsterdam Treaties) and has led to a surprising decision of non-conformity. Another article looks at the growing interest in the policy behind the trans-European networks, particularly the trans-European Transport Network, and how they are funded. Other articles look at the relation between the EU and third countries in terms of human rights, particularly through cooperation and development aid, the impact of greenhouse gas emission quotas on the European economy and the EU's place in a world of globalisation and the Doha Round.
*** La lettre de Confrontation Europe. Confrontations Europe (8 Avenue des Arts, B-1210 Bruxelles. Tel: (32-2) 5068861- Fax: 5068857 - E-mail: confrontations@wandoo.fr - Internet: http://www.confrontations.org ). January - March 2005, No. 69, 40 pp, 7 euros. Annual subscription: 28 euros.
The European Constitution is the subject of the central dossier in this issue along with a series of connected articles. It is broached from various viewpoints - the Constitution as a tool in the creation of a Continental Political Union and as an engine fro democracy, the la Constitution and the CFSP, and the Constitution and the common trade policy. The Lisbon Strategy is also discussed in an article calling for greater complementarity between the strategies pursued by enterprise and public policy. Other economic topics are also dealt with, like transatlantic trade and the scrapping of textile import quotas (expected to greatly change the textile industry, which has already undergone profound change in recent decades in Europe). The newsletter considers opposition to the Bolkestein Directive and prints two differing opinions on the prospect of Turkey joining the EU.
*** 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 ). January - February 2005, No. 120, 12 pp, 32 euros. Annual subscription: 867.85 euros.
The review reports on the fact that the 'Bolkestein Directive' is accused of social dumping by the European Economic and Social Committee and the European Parliament. Both institutions, while holding rather positive views (like the EESC) of the objectives set out in the draft services directive, step back in horror at the way it is to be applied. They have very little faith in the measure stipulating that the provider of a service is only subject to the law of the country in which he or she is established, which could lead to insufficient levels of quality of services and protection for workers and make controls more difficult.
Reviews in brief
***Art. 88-4 de la Constitution Textes soumis du 23 novembre au 20 décembre 2004. Délégation pour l'Union européenne. January 2005, No. 2016, Paris. This publication looks at thirty-one proposals for EU legislation studied by the French 'Délégation de l'Assemblée nationale pour l'Union européenne' concerning farming, foreign trade and research.