*** PASCAL DELWIT (Ed.): Les partis régionalistes en Europe. Des acteurs en développement? Editions de l'Université de Bruxelles (26 av. Paul Héger, CP 163, B-1000 Brussels. Tel: (32-2) 6503799 - Fax: 6503794 - E-mail: editions@admin.ulb.ac.be - Internet: http://www.editions-universite-bruxelles.be ). "Sociologie politique". 2005, 288 pp, €23. ISBN 2-8004-1351-4.
Regionalist parties have been gaining in visibility in recent years. Some are more discreet than other, more vocal and often more radical, groups that catch the attention of the media, like the Vlaams Belang in Belgium, the Liga Nord in Italy and Sinn Fein in Ireland. Regionalist parties often find a sounding board at European level with the creation of the Council of the Regions which, despite its very limited powers, highlights the European dimension of regionalist movements. As Prof. Pascal Delwit explains in his introductory essay, promoting 'Europe of the regions' has been centre stage in the signing of the new treaties under the European project over the past fifteen years.
But what is a regionalist party exactly? This is the first question answered by this collection of articles. The task of defining regionalist parties is not as simple as it might seem at first sight because the word covers a multitude of sins, both in terms of ideological views and in terms of aims and electoral weight, for example. Prof. Daniel-Louis Seiler explains that the conventional political spectrum of the man in the street ranges among regionalists from the neo-marxist and environmental far left [like Abertzale in the Basque Country] to the far right [the Vlaams Belang (former Vlaams Blok) in Belgium], via a whole range of other options in between. It is also significant that regionalist parties seem to be the group of parties with the widest range of political dispersion, reflected in the composition of the DPPE-EFA (Democratic Peoples' Party of Europe - European Free Alliance) at the European Parliament. The future-focussed work of this atypical political group (with MEPs from some but not all regionalist parties along with MEPs from other political leanings) against highlights the huge disparity of formations in defence of the 'periphery'.
The book also raises another question, outlined in the title - are regionalist parties (also described as 'ethno-regionalist' parties) growing? Here too, the book provides very useful information. Before attempting to answer the question with a series of answers (a single answer is not possible given the huge disparity of responses at this levels too because some parties are highly successful while others are collapsing), the authors consider the origins and roots of regionalist movements. The regionalist movement may seem relatively recent to uneducated readers, but in reality the situation is quite different. Some parties were only established a few years ago and regionalist parties are currently doing well, but this is only one phase in a history that often stretches back for centuries, with ebbs and flows. Some regionalist parties are just as long-lived as their liberal or Christian Democrat counterparts.
Most of the articles consider different facets of regionalist parties, each article focussing on a different regionalist party in the various countries of the European Union. Thierry Dominici, for example, looks at the difference between regionalist parties (for Brittany and Corsica) in France, while Emilie van Haute looks at the Volksunie (VU) as a triumph of ideas without a party (the party itself has collapsed despite (along with other regionalist parties in Belgium) having been one of the main elements behind the adoption of federalism in Belgium). In fact, while regionalist parties tend to only be a small part of the national electoral scene, many regulatory play a crucial role in the formation of governments and their support can lead to the formation of a majority and vice versa, lack of support can send parties into the opposition.
Frederik Ronse
*** DOMENICO MORO, ALFONSO SABATINO (Eds): La città, la regione e l'Europa. Contributi e idee per lo sviluppo di Torino e del Piemonte nella prospettiva dell'unificazione europea (1980-2005). Celid (26 via Cialdini, I-10138 Torino. Tel. (39-11) 4474774 - Internet: http: //http://www.celid.it ). 2005, 151 pp. ISBN 88-7661-657-8.
This short book is a collection of essays by European federalists from the Piedmont region of Italy and the city of Turin from the 1980s onwards, interesting diachronic ideas on the Europeanising and modernising of a heavy industrial region against the backdrop of economic restructuring and increased competition.
(PB)
*** ANDREW DUFF: The Struggle for Europe's Constitution. Federal Trust (Distribution: I. B. Tauris, London. Internet: http://www.ibtauris.com ). 2005, 216 pp. ISBN 1-903403-82-0.
Andrew Duff , Member of the European Parliament and erstwhile head of the Liberal section of the Convention that drafted the European Constitution, is prepared to fight to save the constitution, although he believes that after the French and Dutch 'no' votes, in order to be successful, some parts of the constitution will have to be re-negotiated. (The British Liberal Democrat suggests this in his report on the current period of reflection on the future of Europe, drafted with co-rapporteur Austrian Green Johannes Voggenhuber, but the EP's Constitutional Affairs Committee decided to leave options open, see EUROPE 9090). 'Although the Constitution in exactly its present form is unlikely to come into force, it is far from being dead and buried,' argues the author, adding that the problems the constitution was supposed to deal with are still there and 'too much has been invested in the writing of the Constitution and in securing its support from the governments of the twenty-five Member States for it to be consigned casually to the historical archives.' Andrew Duff casts an attentive and highly-motivated eye over areas of the document signed in Rome on 29 October 2004 which have given rise to 'doubts or apprehension' among public opinion, arguing that it is possible to right them 'without blasting open the whole of Pandora's famous box.' Revising the constitution should only be considered where there is 'a reasonable chance of reaching agreement within a couple of years,' he writes, sounding a cautious note to people seeing re-negotiation as a way of asserting greater national sovereignty, warning that there is no majority in Europe 'for a less competent Union with weaker institutions.' He writes that during the Austrian Presidency, EU leaders should give a new mandate to a new convention to start work on 'a renegotiated text by June 2007.' (But Chancellor Schussel has already warned that during the Austrian Presidency's six months, it will focus on what is habitually called the 'context' rather than the 'text'.) Duff says this new convention should keep going throughout an intergovernmental conference that he says should be convened to act as a 'shuttle' between the two levels, which 'would contribute to building a stronger consensus based on greater public awareness of what will be at stake.' Duff continues, 'given rebirth in this way, the new constitutional treaty will be democratically arrived at, socially responsible and politically credible,' but will he be able to win over governments focussing on the context above all? Could Angela Merkel's idea of providing the constitution with a 'social protocol' help him in this?
(MG)
*** PETER BONDE (Ed.): The Proposed EU Constitution. The Reader-Friendly edition. (Fax: (32-2) 2845167 - E-mail: jbonde@europarl.eu.int - Internet: http://www.EUabc.com ). 2005, 400 pp. ISBN 87-87692-88-0.
Continuing his fight for transparency, Jens-Peter Bonde (MEP since 1979) has written another user-friendly version of an EU treaty (the constitutional treaty), following his earlier book on the Nice Treaty. The Co-President of the European Parliament's Independence and Democracy group repeats as often as he can that he would like to see the constitution totally abandoned and is happy the French and Dutch rejected it in their referendums, but he takes the trouble to examine the text in detail, backed by a team of collaborators. Explanations and notes in the margin on the main areas of the text, pointing out 'new' areas, an alphabetical index and a table referring readers to the equivalent parts of existing treaties provide tremendously useful clarifications for the interested reader.
(MG)
*** France-Forum. Après le référendum: une autre Europe, une autre France. France-Forum (133 bis rue de l'Université, F-75007 Paris. Tel: (33-1) 53592060 - Fax: 53592059 - E-mail: France-forum@udf.org). September 2005, No. 19, 110 pp, €10. Annual subscription: €30 (France) or €34 (elsewhere).
"Europe has been hidden from the people for so long that we should not be surprised if they do not look on it with a favourable eye. It is time to change method"… This is how MEP Marielle de Sarnez opens this quarterly of French centrist ideas. An elegant quarterly publication, most of this issue being taken up with discussion of the French 'non' in the referendum on the European Constitution, joyfully stigmatising the complacency so generally displayed by the French political elite with regard to ordinary citizens and other EU Member States alike. One of the essays is by Pascal Lamy, who argues that the French no vote is connected with the way Europe is not inhabited by its citizens because of the excessively big divide between European and national policy areas. Worse still, explains the Director General of the World Trade Organisation, the EU as it is felt to be does not offer enough protection but it seen as threatening, crystallising the dis-ease, anxieties and fears of globalisation that populist forces feed upon. The former European Commissioner writes that this disenchantment among ordinary people can only be overcome in France by giving value to the notion of compromise and therefore turning one's back on the formidable French narcissism. Jacques Delors' former Head of Cabinet concludes by calling for the ratification process to continue and for the foundation and basis of the 'affectio societatis' in the constitutional treaty to be revised. It was inherited from past treaties, he explains, but there is no longer sufficient agreement on it.
(PBo)
*** DAVID HEILBRON PRICE: The Democratic Vision for Europe. Open Letter to EU President PM Tony Blair. Bron Communications (55 rue de Mot, B-1040 Brussels - 18 Dinmore Rd, Wallasey, CH44 5XF, UK. Tel: (32-2) 2307621 - E-mail: dhprice@schuman.info - Internet: http://www.schuman.info ). 2005, 50 pp. ISBN 0-9527276-68.
In this open letter to the British prime minister, published while he was still acting President of the European Council, a well-known figure in European Commission press rooms asks whether the French and Dutch no votes are the outcome of democratic deficit at the level of the EU. Starting from the fact that the 'fathers of Europe' were great democrats in their own countries, the author does not hesitate to argue that it certainly is the result of democratic deficit, with the ingenious democratic Community the founding fathers laid the foundations of being 'perverted' by the politicians who came after them to the point that the five key EU institutions can now hardly be recognised as democratic. The author also argues for democracy to be introduced at the European Economic and Social Committee.
(PBo)
*** TOM GINSBURG, ROBERT A. KAGAN (Eds.): Institutions & Public Law. Comparative Approaches. Peter Lang Publishing inc. (275 Seventh Avenue, 28th Floor, New York, NY 10001. Tel: (1-212) 6477706 - Fax: 6477707 - Internet: http://www.peterlangusa.com ). "Teaching Texts in Law and Politics" series, No. 40. 2005, 324 pp. ISBN 0-8204-7477-0.
The action of courts as political players has long been a fashionable subject of study on the other side of the pond and readers of this newsletter know better than anyone that the subject is coming to the fore in the EU as well since various national political leaders started scratching the surface of the European Court of Justice's work. The European Court of Justice is resembling its US counterpart more and more, as is explained in this book. Inspired by US political scientist and lawyer Martin Shapiro (to whom the book is dedicated), the authors examine and illustrate the trend in a series of essays. They start by analysing the US context, then the European, extending their comparative approach to the global situation with, for example, reflections on the globalisation of public law.
(NDu)
*** DANIEL GUEGUEN: Le nouveau guide pratique du labyrinthe communautaire. EIS Publishing (66 av. Adolphe Lacomblé, B-1030 Brussels. Tel: (32-2) 7377709 - Fax: 7326757 - e-mail: eis@eis.be). 2005, 133 pp, €25. ISBN 2-930409-03-7.
To prepare the tenth edition of this practical guide to the European institutions (published in twenty languages), Daniel Guéguen has combined technical understanding of the European Union with his teaching experience. As the name suggests, the book does not aim to go into aspects of the European institutions in any detail, but rather to provide basic information for lobbyists and others needing a general idea about the structure, powers and decision-making mechanisms of the European institutions in order to be able to interact with them effectively. Clear, user-friendly and well structured, the book combines technical information with practical details (a guide to the different European political parties, the structure of DGs, etc.) to help readers understand the daily working of the European institutions.
(FRo)
*** The EUROPEAN COMMISSION (Official Publications Office of the European Communities, L-2985 Luxembourg. Internet: http: //publications.eu.int) has published the following document:
*** Enterprise Europe. Communication and Information Unit, DG for Enterprise and Industry, European Commission (B-1049. Tel: (32-2) 2966549 - Fax: 2991926 - E-mail: enterprise-europe@cec.eu.int). October-December 2005, No. 20, 23 pp.
This newsletter from the Directorate General for Enterprise and Industry at the European Commission looks at manufacturing, ranging from textiles to the aerospace industry. Manufacturing is vitally important to the EU economy, accounting for a fifth of total EU production and three-quarters of EU exports. It employs nearly 34 million people and accounts for 80% of R&D in the private sector (but there is less investment in manufacturing in the EU than in manufacturing in Japan or the United States). It faces fierce international competition which is why DG Enterprise under its leader Commissioner Günter Verheugen outlines the European Commission's new communication on industrial policy analysing twenty-seven areas of industry, planning a simplification of the legal framework and promotion of standards.
*** L'entreprise & l'homme. Association Chrétienne des Dirigeants et Cadres (8 av. Konrad Adenauer, B-1200 Brussels. Tel: (32-2) 7714731 - Fax: 7724633 - E-mail: entr.hom@skynet.be). Third quarter of 2005, No. 3, 36 pp.
Most of this issue of the newsletter looks at 'the European Union in intensive care' following the debacles of last year. It interviews a series of people who know Europe inside out, including Belgians like Jean-Luc Dehaene and Philippe Maystadt, and other dedicated Europeans like Paul Collowald. The latter has witnessed a fair number of changes in the European Union since he started working in the institutions in 1958 (he spent some three dozen years there). Collowald outlines his views of the French referendum on the constitution, noting on the current situation that apart from the failure of the European Defence Community in 1954, this is the first real crisis experienced by the European Community since its inception.
*** The Federalist Debate. The Federalist Debate (26 via Schina, I-10144 Torino. Tel. & Fax: (39-11) 4732843 - E-mail: federalist.debate@libero.it - Internet: http://www.federalist-debate.org ). November 2005, No. 3, 60 pp. Annual subscription: €15.
As usual, this review includes several articles of interest, some directly connected with federalist ideas and others less so. One article, for example, looks back on the sixty years of the United Nations through several prominent areas of action. Another essay, entitled "Short-Sightedness of the Elites", slams the lack of perspectives in a world governed by economic laissez-faire, starting with an imaginary debate between Pangloss, a character (in a book by Voltaire) who is convinced that we are living in the best of all possible worlds, and Cassandra, Priam's daughter (who can see the future). Other articles look at the connection between development aid policy and the EU's foreign policy.
*** OECD Economic Surveys. OECD Publications (2 rue André-Pascal, F-75775 Paris cedex 16. E-mail: SourceOECD@oecd.org - Internet: http://www.oecd.org ). Economic Surveys. November -December 2005, No. 7-18-20-21-22.
We regularly review the OECD's Economic Surveys, looking in detail at a country's economy and setting out recommendations. The most recent issues cover Italy (No. 7), South Korea (No. 21), Mexico (No. 18), the UK (No. 20) and the United States (No. 22). The eighteenth volume is the last in 2005, issues 20, 21 and 22 being supplements.
Reviews in Brief
***Art. 88-4 de la Constitution - Textes soumis du 1er juillet au 21 septembre 2005. Assemblée Nationale française. October 2005, Paris. Texts examined by the 'Délégation de l'Assemblée nationale pour l'Union européenne' in France include (among many others) legislation on education, culture, the budget and cooperation. ***Gaiko Forum. Toshi Shuppan. Autumn 2005, Tokyo. A magazine about Japanese foreign affairs looking at the recent use and abuse of history in relations between Chine and Japan.