*** NICOLAS HAYOZ, LESZEK JESIEN, WIM VAN MEURS (Editors): Enlarged EU - Enlarged neighbourhood. Perspectives of the European Neighbourhood Policy. Peter Lang (32 Hochfeldstrasse, Postfach 746, CH-3000 Berne 9. E-mail: info@peterlang.com - Internet: http://www.peterlang.net ). "Interdisciplinary Studies on Central and Eastern Europe" series, No. 2. 2005, 392 p.. ISBN 3-03910-624-4.
An enlarged European Union conference, an enlarged neighbourhood - This parallel phenomenon and simple observation would appear to suggest that a priori, it has not been the subject of a very coherent strategic reflection by the Union, given the appearance of it stumbling forward without knowing quite where it is going. This is at least the impression created in this book, which includes contributions from authors from both western and eastern Europe and who participated in the fifteenth "Eastern European Day" conference organised by the University of Fribourg.
The aim of the book is not to discuss the foundations of the 2004 enlargement or its internal implications at a Union level but rather the relationships of the latter with the countries surrounding it. Although Mediterranean neighbourhood policy is mainly concerned by general considerations, attention focuses on the eastern flank of the Union: the countries born out of the disintegration of the former Soviet Union, the Balkans, and to a lesser extent, the countries on the Black Sea. Initially, these external relationships received less media attention than the actual enlargement itself but they are now very much to the fore and contain a number of implications for the final frontiers of the Union and its ultimate aim. As the editors of this book illustrate in their introduction, “Brussels' audacious grand design of a 'Wider Europe' and the corresponding 'European Neighbourhood Policy' ranging from Casablanca on the Atlantic Coast to Archangelsk on the White Sea and from Jerusalem to the Crimea is virtually unknown to most Europeans”
Although the project is an ambitious one, is it sufficiently clear in most people's minds? Does the Union know where it wants to go and has it established a coherent plan to this end? Has it got the means to achieve this aim? The book raises so many questions to which the authors strive to provide a series of responses. Firstly, what does a "Wider Europe" mean? When in the minds of many citizens “Europe” and the “European Union” are interchangeable? Should the Union include all the countries of Europe, indeed, even other non-European countries? No, definitely not. The authors demonstrate how this concept of a “Wider Europe” has gradually been replaced by the European neighbourhood policy, which puts European and non-European neighbours in the same bag through the “allied scheme of history” through which “The EU wants to consider itself as Europe and intends to teat all countries not belonging to this EU-Europe simply as neighbours”. Antoinette Primatarova explains that “Nobody should be surprised that the European countries included in the ENP perceived this strategic metaphorisation as 'degrading' - they considered themselves as part of the European family, they wanted to rejoin the family in the 'big European house' but they were degraded to neighbours”.
The first part of the book focuses on the study of neighbourhood policy itself, its formulation by the Union and its implications for the major regions. The second part of the book brings the studies together that concentrate more specifically on the different countries in these regions and the challenges they pose. It also tackles the case of some countries which are not included in neighbourhood policy but which have a direct strategic influence on the region, like Russia, for example. Therefore, one of the contributions looks at the case of Kaliningrad, this Russian “exclave” (in the sense of an external enclave) , which as a garrison town has become the most cosmopolitan region in Russia but also one of the poorest and most seriously affected by organised crime. A contribution on Belarus highlights the differences in democratic potential compared to Ukraine, and explains that, “the Belarussian regime shows no signs of weakness or cracks in its hull”. In this connection the demonstrations that followed the most recent presidential elections do not appear to have produced much of a response and was quickly caulked by the regime. This book does not always treat the neighbourhood policy affectionately at all, a policy that is supposed to prevent the formation of new dividing lines in Europe, but where the lines of separation still exist in the East. Criticism is sometimes far more bitter than the consensual speeches would have us believe. For example, the case Antoinette Primatarova uses with the image of the carrot and the stick but the stick of Europeanisation is not accompanied by the carrot of accession. “In conclusion, one might say that the Europeanisation agenda designed for neighbours is an imperial approach”. However, although the authors are realistically uncompromising, the authors do not veer away from a critical approach either and underline not just the positive points but also look at how this policy can be improved and which, “is potentially a paradigm shift towards a strategic Europe”.
Frederik Ronse
*** L'Europe en formation. Les cahiers du fédéralisme. Centre international de formation européenne (10 av. des Fleurs, F-06000 Nice. Tel: (33-4) 93979397 - fax: 93979398 - E-mail: europe.formation@cife.org - Internet: http: //http://www.cife.org ). 2006, No. 1, 65 p., € 11. Subscription: € 30.
Alexandre Marc passed away six years ago… but his heritage is in good hands, the hands of Jean-Claude Juncker, who begins this issue by asking a question with frankness and humour, what characterises "'Europe's place in the world ". The nature of European construction and its relaunch following the "no" votes on the la Constitution, are also two subjects examined in this publication.
(MT)
*** EU-25 Watch. Institut für Europäische Politik (22 Bundesallee, D-10717 Berlin. Tel.: (49-30) 889134-0 - fax: 889134-99 - E-mail: info@iep-berlin.de - Internet: http://www.iep-berlin.de and http://www.eu-consent.net ). 2006, No. 2, 308 pp.
2004, with enlargement, and 2005, with the failure of the Constitutional treaty in France and the Netherlands, left the Union feeling rather confused. The European Council has changed its spiel by replacing the very neutral concept of "reflection period" with a more positive formula, the "future of Europe". To avoid new disagreements, Heads of State and Governments underlined the importance of closely following the national debates on the ongoing future of Europe. This is exactly what "EU-25 Watch" suggests, and which is seeking to provide information on preferences, morale and other domestic specificities that make up opinion and the positions of the governments and other actors on the European scene. Drawing from the work produced by the academic network, this volume attempts to look at how subject such as the Lisbon Strategy and the role of the Union in the world are debated and perceived in the twenty-five Member States, as well as in the four accession countries (Bulgaria, Romania, Croatia and Turkey).
The study consists of a series of questions to which political scientists from each country attempt to answer. Seven subjects are covered: the constitutional crisis and more exactly, the interpretations and reactions this has provoked, as well as the possible debates that are going on in the countries, with the aim of resolving the crisis in question; the future process for enlargement and the impact that the constitutional crisis could have on the follow-up to current events; what sort of fall-out will there be on the Financial Perspectives for 2007/13; the position of each country with regard to the subject matter being studied; how initiatives are seen with regard to revitalising the Lisbon agenda and the measures taken to this end; the role of the Union in the world, development of a European security strategy, the question of a European Foreign Affairs Minister, what attitude to take towards Iran and under what flag; the current affairs of the country likely to influencer European policy and the main priorities emerging from the national political agenda; Union priorities and perspectives for 2005-2009, reinventing the European social model, policies for meeting the challenges of globalisation, strengthening the Union as an international actor. A very useful gauge of temperature!
(NDu)
*** ALINE GOHARD - RADENKOVIC (Editors): Plurilinguisme, interculturalité et didactique des langues étrangères dans un contexte bilingue. Peter Lang (32 Hochfeldstrasse, case postale 746, CH-3000 Berne 9. E-mail: info@peterlang.com - Internet: http://www.peterlang.net ). "Transversales", No. 11. 2005, 284 pp. ISBN 3-03910-770-4.
Aline Gohard-Radenkovic is a teacher and director of the French Foreign Language Unit a the Bilingual University of Fribourg. This book's main objective is to study the experience of the University of Fribourg - and the promotion of teaching so-called foreign or second languages and their cultural sources. It might help readers if they have notions of French, German and English. (FRo)
(NDu)
*** HELMUT KOZIOL, ALEXANDER WARZILEK (Editors): Persönlichkeitsschutz gegenüber Massenmedien - The Protection of Personality Rights against Invasions by Mass Media. Springer (Vienna. Internet: http://www.springeronline.com ). "Tort and Insurance Law" series, No. 13. 2005, 713 pp.. ISBN 3-211-23835-2.
Although resulting from the work begun in 2003, this book is amazingly up to date. It deals with the relationship between the rights of the individual and freedom of the press (and more recently the impact of the mass media in the former). It could, in fact, constitute a work of reference in the cartoons affair. This in fact is just one of the most recent societal, philosophical and legal misadventures which pit two factors, both seen as indispensable in our society, against each other: protection of the rights of the individual and freedom of the press owned by “corporate giants and financial empires for which profit-making is the priority and information, a product”. With the practices of the latter, individuals are subject to serious risks of manipulation and oppression. This book is not a “revolutionary manual”, as we could be led to believe by this extract, but rather a legal study, even if it does not restrict itself to the area of tort, the theme in this series. The first part examines the legal positions of European and non-European countries on the question of, and attempts to provide a multidisciplinary contribution to the debate. Although “the judge is the only defence to protect individuals from interference by the powerful media”, he is, nonetheless, not the only contender in the equation. This explains why the second part of the book tackles different points in the question, examined successively from the point of view of the employee in the media industry, the lawyer and a judge from one of the Supreme Courts. The third and final part of the book includes comparative studies and contributions focus on, for example, personal responsibility and freedom of the press in the context of the European Convention of Human Rights and responsibility of the media in the information society, as well as providing general conclusions. It should also be noted that the book is drafted in both English and German, depending on the subject in question but the comparative relationships and conclusions are presented in both languages. The end result is a book that provides both a serious and weighty contribution, based on legal texts and containing a subtle balance in the way it analyses protection of individual rights , “a person's dignity is one of the basic requirements of a civilised social existence” - and freedom of the press, which implies that “the more important the information is for the general public, the more those affected by the information have to suffer infringements” of their rights. Balance “would not be possible if one of them was granted unconditional priority”.
(Fro)
*** JEAN-CLAUDE BARBIER, MARIE-THÉRÈSE LETABLIER (Editors): Politiques sociales -Social Policies. Enjeux méthodologiques et épistémologiques des comparaisons internationales - Epistemological and Methodological Issues in Cross-National Comparison. Presses Interuniversitaires Européennes - Peter Lang (1 av. Maurice, B-1050 Brussels. E-mail: info@peterlang.com - Internet: http://www.peterlang.net ). "Travail & société" series, No 51. 2005, 295 pp. ISBN 90-5201-294-6.
Measuring concepts such as the quality of life at a national level is not easy. Things get tougher when data and studies are compared from different countries. The authors of this book point out that nowadays with an abundance of comparative studies, many researchers “throw themselves into the adventure without asking about their tools, the concepts they are using, the interpretation of the words they use and the validity of the data” at the basis of their comparison, given that the question of comparability is often not even posed. Written in both French and English, this book is a useful tool for understanding this phenomenon. Although the national arena has been the place of production for a long time, the European institutions are becoming major providers of international comparative studies and genuine workshops for producing concepts such as “Euro language”. But the exact meaning of these terms remains obscure, hence the warning, “If we do not clarify this obscurity, European employment strategy…is at risk of remaining at a level of abstract principles, without any concrete impact”.
(FRo)
*** FRANK BAASNER (Editors): Gérer la diversité culturelle. Peter Lang (1 Moosstrasse, CH-2542 Pieterlen. Fax: (41-32) 3761727 - Internet: http://www.peterlang.de ). 2005, 197 pp. ISBN 3-631-53524-4.
This book is another contribution to the Franco-German dialogue and provides a study of cultural diversity management. It provides a theoretical reflection via a study of case studies. The first part focuses on theory and is written by a French and a German writer, whose approaches illustrate their respective cultures. The major part of the book, however, concentrates on the study of concrete cases taken from the private and public sectors, which is provides a much more original insight. The part focusing on the public sector, for example, looks at the cultural differences in administration and the values of managers.
(FRo)