*** OLIVIER DE SCHUTTER, SIMON DEAKIN (Eds.): Social Rights and Market Forces: Is the open coordination of employment and social policies the future of social Europe? Bruylant (67 rue de la Régence, B-1000 Brussels. Tel: (32-2) 5129842 - Fax: 5119477 - E-mail: info@bruylant.be - Internet: http://www.bruylant.be ). "Centre des droits de l'homme de l'université catholique de Louvain" series. 2005, 351 pp, €70. ISBN 2-8027-2042-2.
The Open Coordination Method (OCM) is described as some as the unidentified flying object of the European system. Frank Vandenbroucke, erstwhile Belgian social affairs minister, once said that it was 'not some kind of fixed recipe (but rather a) kind of cookbook that contains various recipes' which, according to the book's two authors, is 'capable of preserving national diversity while respecting objectives which continue to remain common'. It is an unusual tool, at any rate, subject to its fair share of questions and coming in for criticism at times. Some of its detractors say the OCM is nothing more than 'a method of implementing common objectives, these objectives being still defined in the traditional (hierarchical) fashion; or, on the other hand, as veiling a lack of political will to promote employment and social objectives at best, or at worst as a misleading idea behind which there lies a neoliberal agenda'. The book's authors, led by Prof. Olivier De Schutter of the Université catholique de Louvain in Belgium (who also heads a team of experts on EU fundamental rights) and Simon Deakin of Cambridge University's law faculty, believe there is an ounce of truth in both these views, but they do not credit enough importance to the fundamental conditions that determine the OCM's success or failure. They explain that 'the hypothesis has been that the Open Method of Coordination constitutes a genuinely new mode of regulation, but that this originality requires, for it to be effective, certain conditions to be satisfied.'
To this end, the authors use the postulates 'direct deliberative polyarchy' and 'reflective governance', stipulating that these conditions not only have to be identified but also have to be created under institutional constructivism. In other words, the authors want to redefine 'interests' in terms of basic and social rights in a collective learning mechanism to reach a new outlook on the problem they are trying to resolve, by becoming aware of the influence of the context on their perception. The question of the relationship between social rights and market forces is itself of huge importance to the European Union, and preserving the EU's unique model of society. But the book goes well beyond this, by carefully deciphering the way these relations are understood in the EU's decision-making process, along with changes in the decision-making processes reflected in the Open Coordination Method. The authors carefully take account of the theoretical foundations of the practice of governance in order to avoid what they see as the erroneous trend in much work 'to denounce new modes of governance as … a thinly disguised attempt to expand the competences of the Union… or to dismiss them as a justification for inaction in the face of regulatory strategies threatening the distinctive social model of the Union'. The book aims rather to identify shortcomings in the OCM and suggest ways of overcoming them. To this effect, it starts by explaining the theoretical foundations of the OCM and of reflective governance, studying the different interpretations and comparing the OCM with other theories of governance. It then makes a more empirical study of how the OCM functions and shows how together, OCM and fundamental rights could form 'the central axis of the Community's new governance'. It ends by looking at its role in the dilemma of governance from the centre being set against pure decentralisation in the framework of social rights.
Frederik Ronse
*** JEREMY WADDINGTON (Ed.): Restructuring Representation. The Merger Process and Trade Union Structural Development in Ten Countries. Presses Interuniversitaires Européennes - Peter Lang (1 av. Maurice, B-1050 Brussels. E-mail: info@peterlang.com - Internet: http://www.peterlang.net ). "Work & Society" series, No. 46. 2005, 414 pp. ISBN 90-5201-253-9.
In the industrialised world, trade unions are adapting to new labour markets and new economic and political circumstances. Edited by a professor of industrial relations at Manchester University, this collection of essays by a research group set up by the European Trade Union Institute looks at the role and impact of organisation mergers in this reform process. The first part of the book observes the merger process in ten countries (Germany, Austria, Denmark, Greece, Portugal, the UK, Sweden, Norway, Australia and the United States), with highlights of these chapters on specific countries analysed from a more general perspective in the second part of the book. One of the lessons is that the merger process has not really borne fruit in terms of recruiting trade union members.
(LD)
*** KATRIN GOLSCH: The Impact of Labour Market Insecurity on the Work and Family Life of Men and Women. A Comparison of Germany, Great Britain, and Spain. Peter Lang (see above). "European University Studies - Europäische Hochschulschriften - Publications Universitaires Européennes", No. 403. 2005, 286 pp. ISBN 3-631-54016-7.
Despite being such a vast, vague and generally business-based subject, globalisation has a very tangible impact on the lives of millions of individuals. The decline of national borders in economic transactions, linking up the world through information technology, growing competition between countries through deregulation, privatisation and liberalisation of industries and national markets are but a few examples of the changes undergone in recent years. 'Globalisation' has in fact unleashed the economic machine and given it its own life, thereby making it unpredictable. Old values are obsolete in this new epoch and people trying to enter the labour market, especially young people, have lost their way and are left in unfamiliar territory. The unpredictable nature of globalisation - which increases prosperity at the same time as it increases individual insecurity - is omnipresent in their professional life, where getting a permanent job can be a miraculous undertaking. Employers' new trend of trying out before they buy creates insecurity and makes it impossible for people to plan their lives, which in turn results in falling marriage and birth rates and increasing lack of well-being among young people.
Assistant social science professor at Cologne University in Germany, Katrin Golsch aims in this book to identify these demographic changes, focussing on changes in security on the labour market and how this impacts on young people's work and private lives as they start work and reach mid-career. Her research covers three countries (Germany, the UK and Spain), analysing how the three countries' different employment policies filter and lessen the impact of globalisation. The first part of the book looks at the link between insecurity on the labour market and family life. The author describes the differences between the three countries and explains how the impact of globalisation is accentuated or lessened by social policy, enabling her to identify structural changes in the countries' economy and culture. The second part of the book outlines the empirical proof and statistical methods used in her research. The last part summarises the first two and looks at future challenges. Katrin Golsch highlights the urgent need for new legislation to prevent young people becoming the big losers of globalisation …
(NDu)
*** BENGT ERIKSSON, JURGEN WOLF: European perspectives on elderly people. Peter Lang (see above). "European Social Inclusion - Sozialgemeinschaft Europa", No. 12 2005, 237 pp. ISBN 3-631-50473-X.
This is a text book for a European diploma in social inclusion, funded by the Socrates programme. Lecturers at Karlstad University in Sweden, the two authors focus their research on the ageing EU population and the social situation and quality of life of old people in the EU, and the demographical and structural impact of the growing numbers of old people. Various theories of ageing are set out, and the book explains issues like the impact of widowhood and retirement, social policy and the healthcare system, not to mention the exclusion sometimes faced by old people. The last chapter considers future measures that could help tackle this problem, which concerns us all…
(NDu)
*** NUNO FERREIRA: Revisiting Euthanasia: A Comparative Analysis of a Right to Die in Dignity. Zentrum für Europäische Rechtspolitik an der Universität Bremen (Universitätsallee, GW 1, 28359, Bremen, Germany). "ZERP-Diskussionspapier" series, No. 4. 2005, 67 pp.
A postgraduate student at Bremen University in Germany, Nuno Ferreira revisits euthanasia in this book. It has been practised since time immemorial but has become a controversial issue these days. It clashes with the Judeo-Christian idea of human life being more important than anything else, and it touches on one of the foundations of European society, namely individual freedom. There are many disputes surrounding euthanasia and opinion within the EU remains divided. To avoid confusion, Nuno Ferreira starts off by providing some explanations, defining the different types of euthanasia and arguments for and against. In the second part of the book, the author explains the views of international organisations and the Council of Europe, going on to explore national positions with traditional views of countries in Portugal on the one hand, and more permissive policy in countries like Belgium and the Netherlands, on the other. The situation in countries outside the EU (the United States, Australia and New Zealand) is also explored. The author compares the different countries' polices and makes suggestions for managing the movement to defend euthanasia. Although still rather a taboo subject, passive euthanasia is gaining ground in continental Europe, with polls in twenty-six countries revealing that between 56% and 84% of the population are in favour of it.
(NDu)
*** BERNARD DEROSIER, CHRISTIAN PHILIP: Un renforcement significatif de la sécurité juridique des compensations de service public. Délégation pour l'Union européenne de l'Assemblée nationale (Boutique de l'Assemblée nationale, 4 rue Aristide-Briand, F-75007 Paris. Tel: (33-1) 40636121 - Internet: http://www.assemblee-nationale.fr ). "Documents d'information de l'Assemblée nationale" series, No. 2619. 2005, 114 pp, €5. ISBN 2-11-119492-1.
Like most of the newsletters in this series, this parliamentary report provides useful information about draft EU legislation, in this case the Monti package of three pieces of draft legislation adopted by the European Commission in July 2005 to provide EU criteria for the EU25 Member States and their overseas dependencies on the provision of financial compensation to companies meeting public service obligations. The authors say the package has the huge benefit of exempting most compensation from the obligation of prior notification to the Commission, which provides a suitable answer to the need for legal security. They describe the package as broadly satisfactory, but feel that in the light of the European Court of Justice Altmark ruling, EU intervention in this field should be extended by adopting a framework directive to clarify all issues surrounding services of general interest. (PBo)
*** MICHEL DELEBARRE, DIDIER QUENTIN: Les aides d'Etat à finalité régionale: un instrument de prévention de la fracture territoriale. Délégation pour l'Union européenne de l'Assemblée nationale (see above). "Documents d'information" series, No. 2710. 2005, 46 pp, €3-50. ISBN 2-11-119597-9.
This report by two French parliamentarians (Socialist Michel Delebarre is now President of the European Social and Economic Committee as well) analyses the draft review of the state regional aid guidelines for 2007-2013 unveiled by the European Commission on 15 January this year. The authors argue that the draft guidelines make genuine improvements on the existing situation and on the European Commission's initial ideas, but they also note the existence of shortcomings like, for example, unfair calculation of eligible populations, reduced aid for overseas territories and dependencies and ultraperipheral regions, and the lack of clarity on how reformed regional aid meshes with reform of the Structural Funds. Together, this amounts to an unacceptable 50% cut in the population of France eligible to be covered by regional state aid. They therefore suggest corrective measures to enable social, economic and territorial cohesion to be promoted, recognising the territorial dimension and the need to prevent social dividedness in French overseas territories, ultraperipheral regions, islands and very isolated areas.
(JPe)