*** SOPHIE GARCIA-JOURDAN: L'émergence d'un espace européen de liberté, de sécurité et de justice. Etablissements Bruylant (67 rue de la Régence, B-1000 Brussels. Tel: (32-2) 5129845 - Fax: 5117202 - E-mail: info@bruylant.be - Internet: http://www.bruylant.be ). 2005, 761 pp, €75. ISBN 2-8027-1942-4.
What is the history of emerging police and judicial cooperation in the European Community? What is the current situation facing the Area of Freedom, Security and Justice that was set up at the decisive Tampere European Council and came into being through the sheer force of character and doggedness of the Commissioner responsible at that time, Portuguese national Antonio Vitorino? What are the possible, potential and, of course, desirable future prospects? These questions provide the framework to this monumental book, published with the financial aid of the Robert Schuman Foundation, with a preface by Valéry Giscard d'Estaing. A Doctor in Public law, Sophie Garcia-Jourdan has written an exceptionally useful book providing an exhaustive run-down of all the instruments used by European countries over the course of time, from one Treaty to the next, either within or on the fringes of the EU, to provide a common response to cross-border migration and organised crime that make a mockery of borders. This is the history of a rather belated awareness in the European project. It was necessary to wait for the Single European Act and its promise of free circulation for individuals before all EC Member States pledged in a 'political declaration' annexed to the Treaty, to cooperate on security within their common area, although there had already been initiatives along this line on a strictly inter-governmental basis. It is also the history of slow and laborious, step-by-step awareness in areas at the heart of national sovereignty and thus characterised by a proliferation of excessively prudent and paradoxically constantly changing legislation without the necessary coherence to lead to the balanced construction needed for such a project. This obviously complicated the analysis and study of this field and one of the author's considerable achievements has been to provide a salutary clarification. It is also the history of a coming to awareness, spurred on by the electroshocks of the 11 September 2001 terrorist attacks, followed by the Madrid and London attacks, forcing the Member States to acknowledge that only fighting together would allow them to fight with a degree of effectiveness against all elements wanting to undermine the values incarnated by the European Union.
Sophie Garcia-Jourdan is not content to simply describe and analyse the various pieces of the jigsaw - she attempts to weigh up their importance. What type of decision-making could be the most effective? How can the legitimate need of refugees for protection be reconciled with migration and taking a tougher line on combatting illegal immigrants? What balance should be struck between harmonisation of legislation and application of mutual recognition of judicial decisions? What procedures should be foreseen on the political and jurisdictional levels in the most controversial areas? Should the EU move in the direction of a European Border Guard, European judicial police and a European Public Prosecutor? The author answers all these questions in a perspective of the European Union changing shape. All her answers converge on the fact, pointed out in the preface by former European Convention member Hubert Haenel, that given the limits noted in the book and the great reservations of some countries, the use of 'strengthened cooperation' of any type will probably be inevitable if progress is to be made on questions of justice and security in the enlarged Europe. The President of the French Senate's delegation to the European Union adds: "In today's EU25 and tomorrow's EU30, it is obvious that not all countries will want or be able to progress at the same speed. It will be essential to make use, within or without the framework of the Treaty, of arrangements allowing states that are able and so desire, to go faster and further". The French 'No' vote on the Constitution makes this comment rather paradoxical, but no less relevant!
Michel Theys
*** HENRI LABAYLE, ANNE WEYEMBERGH (Eds.): Code de droit pénal de l'Union européenne - Code of Criminal Law of the European Union. Edition à jour au 1er janvier 2005 - Texts up to 1st January 2005. Etablissements Bruylant (see above). "Codes en poche" series. 2005, 1134 and 1096 pp, €35. ISBN 2-8027-1978-5 and 2-8027-1931-9.
Available in French or English, this Code of Criminal Laws of the European Union describes all the EU Member States' criminal law from the start of cooperation in the 1970s until integration of the Schengen agreement via the European Arrest Warrant and mutual recognition. Very detailed but not claiming to be exhaustive, the book provides students and researchers (and ordinary citizens interested in instruments aiming to guarantee their safety and the respect of their fundamental rights) with a very useful synthesising working tool, as the authors make a list of this complex and diverse 'acquis' over two decades of European cooperation. The publication is part of the process of establishing a specialised academic network looking at European criminal law, coordinated since December 2004 by the European Studies Institute of the 'Université libre de Bruxelles' in Belgium, funded by the Commission's Agis programme.
(MT)
*** RAPHAEL MATHIEU: La défense européenne contre le terrorisme. 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://www.crisp.be ). "Courrier hebdomadaire" series, No. 1886. 2005, 42 pp, €6.90. Annual subscription: €235.
This Crisp "Courrier hebdomadaire" analyses the EU's Counter-Terrorism Action Plan established after the 11 September 2001 attacks and reactivated after the 11 March 2004 attacks in Madrid (not to mention the July attacks on London Transport). The author's originality lies in the way he takes on board several perspectives one after the other - police and judicial cooperation, military instruments and surveillance, cutting off the funding of terrorism, boosting air safety and coordinating the EU's global activity. Raphaël Mathieu does not simply describe the measures taken by the Member States but also, more importantly, the problems encountered in implementing them. His main contribution is to highlight the way these problems are viewed by the bodies responsible for implementing the measures, in the light of interviews with senior police and surveillance service personnel. The conclusion of this brief, yet dense, study is that there is still much to be done to tangibly arm the European Union against the terrorist threat, particularly when it comes to changing mentalities!
(MT)
*** HELEN TONER: Partnership Rights, Free Movement and EU Law. Hart Publishing (Salters Boatyard, Folly Bridge, Abingdon Rd, Oxford, OX1 4LB, UK. Tel: (44-1865) 245533 - Fax: 794882 - E-mail: mail@hartpub.co.uk - Internet: http: //http://www.hartpuc.co.uk ). "Modern Studies in European Law" No. 3. 2004, 286 pp, £40. ISBN 1-84113-477-5.
The extension of a doctoral thesis for the Law Department of Oxford University, this study looks at the potential for updating European law on family movement rights to take account of changes in many Member States with regard to partnership rights and cohabitation. The author makes a strong argument (with all the necessary scientific rigour) for fine-tuning to take account of changes in society. Detailed research going beyond the issue of immigration to call on European law to adapt to modern society.
(LD)
*** THIERRY MARIANI: D'une immigration subie à une immigration choisie: faut-il des quotas ? Délégation pour l'Union européenne de l'Assemblée nationale (4 rue Aristide Briand, F-75007 Paris. Tel: (33-1) 40636121). "Les rapports d'information de l'Assemblée nationale", No. 2365. 2005, 85 pp, €3-50. ISBN 2-11-119230-9.
This newsletter is the French National Assembly's Delegation for the European Union's response to the Green Paper on managing economic migration unveiled in January 2005 by the European Commission, pointing out that Europe will lose twenty million workers between 2010 and 2030. Based on an overview of immigrant labour policies of certain OECD countries, the author calls for the introduction of a points system for prospective qualified workers and annual ceilings on immigration to find a job.
(PBo)
*** ALINE GRANGE: L'Europe des drogues. L'apprentissage de la réduction des risques aux Pays-Bas, en France et en Italie. L'Harmattan (5-7 rue de l'Ecole-Polytechnique, F-75005 Paris. Tel: (33-1) 40467920 - Fax: 43258203 - E-mail: diffusion.harmattan@wanadoo.fr - Internet: http: //http://www.editions-harmattan.fr ). "Logiques politiques" series. 2005, 448 pp, €35. ISBN 2-7475-8378-3.
Since the 1980s and 90s, there has been an approximation of the EU Member States' health and social policies regarding drugs use, anchored in the risk reduction policy. To what extent can this change be put down to the EU's intervention since it only has a very limited mandate under the EU treaties to act in an area which remains under national power? This is the question this research for a doctorate at the European University Institute in Florence attempts to provide some answers to. The author's main thesis is that despite limited powers on paper, the EU in general, and the European Commission in particular, would be able to extend the scope of activities by creating new areas of power and influence in its own interests. In one of the first chapters, Aline Grange describes the conceptual tools used in support of her argument before dividing her thesis into two separate parts.
Initially, the author looks at developments in the national policies of the three countries selected as different management models for social affairs, and tests her hypothesis of convergence on the testing ground of national measures. In the light of the paradigms dominating policy in the 70s and 80s, she updates analysis of the specific nature of cases and the watertightness of national systems. She goes on to examine the birth, history and 'trip' taken by the idea of risk reduction through analysis of the emergence of a public policy community at EU level. She then highlights changes in the various categories of stakeholder attempting to influence the decision-making process(es) and impact on drugs policy in terms of the learning curve, enabling her to get back to a trans-national perspective of building consensus and the legitimisation of various risk reduction practices. The second part of the book looks at the European Union's role in this convergence of public policy at national level. She highlights the way the EU has contributed to convergence by developing flexible, informal institutions and favouring transfer and learning processes. She also demonstrates how Brussels' influence is, all the same, restricted. She explains this and concludes that the spread of the notion of risk reduction is certainly proof of a Europeanisation of public policy, but this Europeanisation should not be seen as simply a top down influence from the European level on national policies, but should rather be seen in terms of meshed influence and combined transformation.
(PBo)
*** MARC LAFFINEUR: L'Europe et la contrefaçon: halte au pillage ! Délégation pour l'Union européenne de l'Assemblée nationale (see above). "Les rapports d'information de l'Assemblée nationale", No. 2363. 2005, 147 pp, €5. ISBN 2-1111-7751-2.
Counterfeiting these days accounts for around 10% of world trade, or the none too paltry sum of US$ 600 bn a year! Not to mention what counterfeiting implies in terms of unsafe products and loss of income for companies and their workers, both the current workforce and those who would be taken on if business was going better… The French parliamentarian who wrote this Newsletter raises the standard of revolt, outlining European and international tools for combatting counterfeiting and suggesting fifteen emergency measures in this connection.
(MT)
*** OLIVIER GALLET: Haltes aux fraude$. Prévenir et détecter les fraudes en entreprise. Dunod (Paris. Internet: http://www.dunod.com - Distribution Benelux: Interforum Benelux, 117 boulevard de l'Europe, B-1301 Wavre. Tel: (32-10) 420310). 2005, 200 pp, €28-46. ISBN 2-10-048460-5.
Enron, Worldcom and Parmalat are infamous watchwords for fraud and embezzlement damaging the interests of thousands of individuals. But big business does not have the monopoly of this type of behaviour - all types of structure are threatened, from multinationals to SMEs, via public authorities and even associations. In this distinctly practical book, studded with genuine case studies, a specialist internal auditor describes the real risks of fraud and provides tools for averting it. What is fraud exactly? What types of system tend to be used? How can one recognise and combat them? What anti-fraud measures are needed? Olivier Gallet answers these questions, aware that it would be utopian to believe all fraud can be stamped out. He believes, however, that prevention and detection processes are possible to restrict the devastating impact fraud can have.
(PBo)
*** 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://www.editecom.com ). July-August 2005, No. 490, 62 pp. Annual subscription: €202.
This issue dedicates some space to the European Constitution, with Daniel Vignes, the review's chief editor, arguing in favour of keeping the 3rd part's rules of operation, and an argument by Philippe Herzog for the re-launch of a dynamic political Union. It also looks at economic issues like deepening links with China and eleven new countries joining the eurozone over the next five years. The review also looks at the slow, laborious process of Europeanising defence over and above national interests, long covered by Article 296 of the EC Treaty. Other articles look at the Common Agricultural Policy, law courts' impact on the use of geographical terms, and how the Spanish port cities of Ceuta and Melilla in Morocco (tragically in the news right now) should be seen as insular rather than Peloponnesian.
*** Rivista di studi politici internazionali. Rivista di studi politici internazionali (40 Lungarno del Tempio, I-50121 Florence. Tel: (39-55) 666384). July-September 2005, No. 287, 190 pp, €15-50. Annual subscription: €62.
With a mixture of articles in Italian, French and English, this review focusses on two themes - counter-terrorism and the European Union after the referendum on the Constitution. On counter-terrorism there is an article on the structure of regulations to combat terrorism and an article on the costs and impact of terrorism on the European and US economies between 2001 and 2004. There is an interview with Giuseppe Vedovato (who has written another essay on cooperation between the Council of Europe and the EU on democracy) about the European Constitution, Catherine Guisan looks at the objective of peace in the European project, while another article studies changes in the Vatican's policy on Judaism when Benedict XVI took over from Jean Paul II.
*** 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" series. May 2005, 98 pp, €23. ISBN 2-7472-0841-9.
With the looming new 7th Framework Programme of European Research and Technological Development, it is hardly a surprise that this issue of Réalités industrielles looks at scientific cooperation. Scientific cooperation is of vital importance for the Lisbon Strategy, and is an important factor in the success of European companies on the global scene. The review highlights this importance of this area and outlines various types of scientific cooperation, giving examples of bilateral cooperation (between France and Germany in aviation and France and the UK in public environment policy).
*** Notabene. Observatoire social européen (13 rue Paul Emile Janson. B-1050 Brussels. Tel: (32-2) 5371971 - Fax: 5392808 - E-mail: info@ose.be - Internet: http://www.ose.be ). July 2005, No. 139, 16 pp. Annual subscription: €20.
The three articles in this issue look at the French and Dutch 'No' votes. In the light of the two referendums and the feeling of looming danger and social regression they were an expression of, the first article calls for a debate on the economic and social guidelines and EU enlargement. The second calls for debate to be refocussed and for democratic reflection on the meaning of the European project, while the third looks at the future of social Europe and erosion of compromise culture in the EU at a time when the need for political union is more pressing than ever.
Reviews in brief
*** ASEFNews. Asia-Europe Foundation. First quarter of 2005, Singapore. Newsletter of the Foundation's conferences, seminars and cultural exchanges. *** La Flandre. Flanders foreign affairs ministry. June-August 2005, Brussels. This issue presents a series of artists and painters and the new International Ocean Centre in Ostend. *** Gaiko Forum. Toshi Shuppan. Winter 2005, Tokyo. Gaiko Forum gives Japan's views on foreign policy. *** Art. 88-4 of the Constitution. Texts submitted from 12 April to 6 June 2005. Délégation de l'Assemblée nationale pour l'Union européenne. 2005, No. 2369, Paris. This report analyses 28 proposals and draft laws on foreign trade and the Common Foreign and Security Policy.