WEEKLY SUPPLEMENT / European library

*** La Turquie et l'Europe. Centre de recherche sur l'Europe et le monde contemporain (Université Paris-Sud-XI, Faculté Jean Monnet, 54 boulevard Desgranges, F-92331 Sceaux. E-mail: [e-mail] - Internet: http://www.cremoc.org ). Collection "Les cahiers du CREMOC", n° 39. 2005, 53 pp

Appearances can be deceptive. What appear to be rather unassuming publications can hide wonderful surprises for those who consult them. This is the case for this issue of the Cahiers du CREMOC with its dossier on an issue at the very heart of European events and likely to remain there for many weeks, if not months or years to come, namely the type of connection to be made between the European Union and Turkey. This issue is a growing divide between Member States as has been spectacularly and cruelly laid bare by the ministerial and diplomatic negotiations over recent weeks. In the editorial, the review's Editor-in-Chief, Hubert Fabre, explains that Turkey has become emblematic of the idea of a diluted Europe that one puts up with, crystallising fears and frustrations over and above the legitimate question of defining the borders of the European area. Hence the problem for some people, headed by the Austrians, following the warning shots of the No votes on the Constitution, of even imagining Turkey being able to join the 'club' one day. Hence, too, President Chirac's decision that after the negotiation process, he would submit the question of whether Turkey should finally actually fully join the EU to a referendum, a decision that Hubert Fabre points out is more connected with domestic policy considerations than foreign policy considerations.

This type of declaration and behaviour could be seen by Turks as signs of defiance, which explains the utility of this dossier where Turkish academics attempt to put church and mosque back at the centre of the village with no more than a passion for science, thereby shedding useful light on various ideas and sensitive areas for Turkey. Kamuran Reçber, for example, makes a detailed legal analysis of the settling of disputes between Turkey and the European Community in the framework of the Ankara Accord. Senior Lecturer at the Economic and Administrative Science Faculty of Uludag University in Bursa, he point out that it was on 31 July… 1959 that Turkey applied to become an associate member of the EU. The Ankara Accord was signed on 12 September 1963 with the aim of leading to Turkey joining the EU through the establishment of a three-state customs union, which came fully effective on 1 January 1996, Turkey becoming the only state to be part of such a customs union without being a fully member of the European unit. This is also, of course, a polite way of pointing out that the privileged partnership can never be an objective because it already exists in reality …

Senior Lecturer at Galatasaray University in Istanbul, Ercüment Tezcan makes a highly instructive comparative analysis of the European Commission's recommendation of 6 October 2004 and the European Council's decision two months later to open accession negotiations with Turkey on 3 October 2005. He notes that the European Commission's recommendation makes no mention of equal treatment and it was the Commission itself which, contrary to its opinion on Croatia, decided to moot the dangerous idea of a privileged partnership. He goes on to state that the EU acts in a subjective manner when it comes to Turkey's request to join. The final, equally compelling, essay looks at EuroMed relations in the post-enlargement period.

Michel Theys

*** TANGUY DE WILDE D'ESTMAEL, LAETITIA SPETSCHINSKY (Eds.): La politique étrangère de la Russie et l'Europe. Enjeux d'une proximité. Presses Interuniversitaires Européennes - Peter Lang (1 av. Maurice, B-1050 Brussels. E-mail: [e-mail] - Internet: http://www.peterlang.net ). "Géopolitique et résolution des conflits" series, No. 2. 2004, 264 pp. ISBN 90-5201-230-X.

The disappearance of the Soviet Union, and with it a certain image of Russia, has led to a profound re-adjustment of the international scene. Despite the Yeltsin period which saw Russia's credibility among the world's leaders collapse both abroad and at home, Russia is still far from a negligible player in world affairs. Relations between the giant country straddling both Europe and Asia and European countries are a special case which the authors describe as being a triptych of 'impossible integration, unlikely juxtaposition and necessary cooperation'. The study of current relations between Russia and Europe would not be fully intelligible without understanding of the factors shaping Russian foreign policy, which is what the first part of this book attempts to provide. There is an essay overviewing relations between Russia and Europe back in time, from Ivan the Terrible (and the birth of the duality between technical and economic attraction and fear of loss of identity) to Boris Yeltsin, via the Soviet era which saw the USSR seeing itself as a model. Russian foreign policy, still finding its way, was shaped by Vladimir Putin more than anyone else, as Bobo Lo explains in an instructive, well-structured chapter. Although at the top of the structure setting out Russian foreign policy, Putin is not the only one shaping the policy. Russia's foreign policy is the fruit of a dynamic game, a battle of influence even, between different institutions with fluctuating roles and powers, as several writers explain. The second part of the book looks more specifically at relations between the EU and Russia. Changes like former Warsaw Pact countries joining NATO, enlargement of the EU to the central and Eastern Europe, and the importance of Russian energy supplies for the EU, have pushed the two powers towards each other. The Kremlin's current pragmatism and unison on defence issues in the new security situation in the aftermath of 11 September have given a boost to cooperation, but cooperation will only really take off if Russia takes democratic tools and values to heart - and the Chechen conflict still highlights weaknesses.

(FRo)

*** OLESIA ENGELBUTZEDER: EU Anti-Dumping Measures Against Russian Exporters. In View of Russian Accession to the WTO and the EU Enlargement 2004. Peter Lang (Moosstrasse 1, Postfach 350, CH-2542 Pieterlen, Switzerland. Tel: [phone] - Fax: [phone] - E-mail: [e-mail] - Internet: http: //http://www.peterlang.de ). "Schriften zum Europa- und Völkerrecht und zur Rechtsvergleichung" series, No. 12. 2004, 206 pp. ISBN 3-631-53161-3.

The European Union's trade policy for Russia and anti-dumping measures against Russian exports are the subject of this academic monograph, a doctoral thesis for Frankfurt-am-Main University in Germany written in English. The author is a Russian lawyer who graduated from the Moscow Public Institute of International Relations. She assesses economic relations between the EU and Russia in general, looking in detail at anti-dumping procedures under EU and international law and the trade implications of the EU granting Russia market economy status in 2002. She concludes by looking at the economic prospects of the EU's enlargement and the possibility of Russia joining the World Trade Organisation. The book is very useful and instructive, stuffed with useful statistics, tables, graphs and detailed, concrete examples. Olesia Engelbutzeder's analysis and exhaustive bibliography provide links to Russian publications and sources regarding business relations between the EU and its huge important neighbour in the East. Essential reading for people interested in the connection between the European Union and Russia!

(PB)

*** CHRISTIANE PROROK: Ibrahim Rugovas Leadership. Eine Analyse der Politik des kosovarischen Präsidenten. Peter Lang (see above). "Politik und Demokratie" series, No. 1. 2004, 132 pp. ISBN 3-631-52451-X.

The personality and leadership qualities of the Kosovan President Ibrahim Rugova - who has made no secret of the disease he is currently suffering from - are examined in this brief study by a young political scientist from Vienna. Christiane Prorok describes a man of paradox and contradictions, an intellectual born in a little Balkan village, who studied with Roland Barthes in Paris, a charismatic, popular idol who is also a passive, tranquil man, a politician despite himself with an instinct for power. Interesting work in that it provides a picture of an enigmatic, media-shy political leader symbolising for many observers the transition of the Serb province of Kosovo in the direction of an independent republic.

(PB)

*** GEORG NOLTE: Le droit international face au défi américain. Editions Pedone (13 rue Soufflot, F-75005 Paris. Tel: [phone]). "Cours et travaux" series, No. 6. 2005, 101 pp, €10. ISBN 2-233-00471-X.

Professor at Munich's Ludwig-Maximilian University (and previously at Gottingen University) Professor Nolte provides in this book the lectures he gave in February last year as part of a course on international public law at the 'Institut des hautes études internationales de l'Université Panthéon-Assas (Paris II)', looking at the United States position with regard to international law, the preventative use of armed force and the preventative assassination of individuals, at Guantanamo with respect to the Geneva Conventions, at the United States' human rights policy and how it meshes with the International Criminal Court. To conclude, he provides some answers to the question of whether the nature of international law is changing. One of the ten arguments he puts forward is that international law is becoming an instrument for the hegemony of the United States and even, at times, of NATO. This change can only be reversed if counter-weights appear on the scene and this could be on the European Union's main roles in the future since, argues Georg Nolte, indications of the role the EU could play in this connection can be found firstly in the field of human rights and business law, and also, since the third Iraq War, in the field of using force.

(PBo)

*** Revue politique et parlementaire. Société d'Edition Diplomatique et Parlementaire (6 rue Labrouste, F-75015 Paris. Tel: [phone] - Fax: [phone]). April/May/June 2005, No. 1035, 192 pp., €24. Annual subscription: €61 (France), €75 (elsewhere). ISBN 2-85702-150-X.

As always, this issue of the review provides an interesting and very detailed dossier on global governance calling for a 'necessary utopia'. This appeal was not really listened to in New York. There are articles on the international system and the role the United Nations Organisation should play. International financial institutions, the WTO (a bastard organisation moving towards paralysis on one side of its body according to the title of the essay by Béatrice Marre) and the World Health Organisation are also put under the spotlight. Other articles look at the question of sustainable development, 'vital respect for international social standards', and how courts contribute to global governance. Alongside the normal columns, we could also mention the invitation by Prof. Christian de Boissieu to 'relaunch Europe through the economy'. The deputy president of the 'Conseil d'analyse économique' criticises the way Tony Blair approached the debate on the Financial Perspectives, saying that it leads to 'favouring an accountant's vision of the EU, incompatible with the necessary reaffirmation of the EU's political ambitions'.

(MT)

*** FOUAD BENHALLA: Le choc de la communication globale: pouvoirs et sociétés arabes face au défi. Editions Publisud (15 rue des Cinq-Diamants, F-75013 Paris. Tel: [phone] - Fax: [phone] - E-mail: [e-mail] - Internet: http: //http://www.publisud.fr ). "Médias et communications" series. 2005, 199 pp, €19-60.

Former head of Radio France International and Canal France International, journalist Fouad Benhalla provides a synthesis of the impact and pressure exerted on Arab society by the modern means of communication. Caught between despotic powers and foreign powers pushing them to reform along the lines of the Western model, Arab societies find themselves in the 'only part of the world that is regressing on the economic, social and cultural fronts'. Starting with a quotation from the head of the United Nations Development Programmes that 'Arabs have to find a happy medium between the status quo and rejection of reforms seen as being imposed from the outside', the author distinguishes between Europeans and Americans, the former wanting to see their Arab neighbours becoming a new economic, social and technological force, which would help ensure the security of Europe, while the United States wants to force the Arab World to move in the direction of the interests of "empire"…

(MT)

*** MICHELE BRONDINO: La presse italienne en Tunisie. Histoire et société (1838-1956). Editions Publisud (see above). "Italies" series. 2005, 276 pp., €30. ISBN 2-86600-989-4.

The author, a Mediterranean historian, casts a critical eye over Italian language newspapers - the first newspapers to be published in Tunisia and a useful tool for examining the conflicts on either side of the Mediterranean between different languages, cultures and civilisations.

(PBo)

*** The EUROPEAN COMMISSION (Official Publications Office of the European Communities, L-2985 Luxembourg. Internet: http: //publications.eu.int) has published the following document:

*** Agenda Social. DG Employment, Social Affairs and Equal Opportunities - Documentation Centre
(B-1049 Brussels. Fax: [phone] - E-mail: [e-mail]). May 2005, No. 11, 28 pp.

The first article of Agenda Social looks at European demographics. It will come as a surprise to nobody to learn that Europeans are ageing: "In 1970, there were still around 5 people aged 15 to 64 (of working age) for each person aged over 65, but there will only be 2.5 to 1 in 2030". The review outlines the European Commission's Green Paper on the issue. This month's dossier looks at the European Commission's Social Agenda 2005-2010 and its two priorities: employment and combatting poverty and promoting equal opportunities. Other articles look at the tightening up of the Lisbon Strategy following the Spring Summit, restructuring and sexual equality between men and women.

*** Paneuropa Deutschland. Paneuropa Union Deutschland (17 Dachauer Str., D-80335 Munich. Tel: [phone]). 2nd quarter 2005, No. 2, 35 pp, €3. Annual subscription: 12 €.

Bernd Posselt, President of Paneuropa Deutschland, and Edmund Stoiber, Bavarian Minister President, call for the two-pronged European deficit (of power and confidence) to be bridged following their publicising and deepening by the 'No' votes on the Constitution. The review also looks at another 'couple', Pope Benedict XVI and Robert Schuman. The first, the Father of the Catholic Church, took over from Jean-Paul II in calling for a united Europe close to its spiritual roots. The second, a Secular Father, was one of the founding fathers of Europe and a committed Christian. Paneuropa Deutschland looks at Schuman's life in an article entitled "Europa mit Gott".

*** Europe on the move. Church and Society Commission of CEC (174 rue Joseph II, B-1000 Brussels. Tel: [phone] - Fax: [phone] - E-mail: [e-mail] - Internet: http://www.cec-kek.org ). June 2005, 24 pp.

The Church and Society Commission of the Conference of European Churches lobbies for 123 member churches among European political powers. This annual report focuses on the European integration process, looking at areas where the organisation focussed its work in 2004: enlargement, relations with Turkey, the Constitution, Social Europe and the Lisbon Strategy, peace, security and reconciliation in Europe. The CSC also describes its structure and funding and relations with the European institutions.

*** Echosud. Commission Universitaire pour le Développement (72-74 rue de Namur, B-1000 Brussels. - E-mail: [e-mail] - Internet: http://www.ciuf.cfwb.be ). June 2005, No. 7, 16 pp.

The review's editorial comments on the Bologna Process which, although allowing greater homogeneity in studying in Europe, can sometimes cause problems for student exchanges and the mobility of students from outside Europe, particularly from Africa. The publication includes articles on university cooperation between Belgium and Southern countries, such as a presentation by the Antwerp Institute of Tropical Medicine, and activities in progress.

*** Carrefour de l'économie. SPF Economie, PME, Classes Moyennes & Energie (City Atrium, bloc C, 4th floor, 50 rue du Progrès, B-1000 Brussels. Fax: [phone] - e-mail: [e-mail]). 2005, Nos.1 A & B, 8 + 16 pp.

Brochure A looks at the spread of information and communication technology in Belgium, outlining Belgium's strong and weak points, like broadband and ICT in business, in this vital sector of the Lisbon Strategy. Brochure B contains macro-economic data.

Reviews in brief

***Financial Stability Review. European Central Bank. June 2005, Frankfurt am Main. The European Central Bank's monthly report on the macro-financial situation in the eurozone in June 2005. ***Japan Echo. Japan Echo. June 2005, Tokyo. Focussing on Japanese teenagers.