*** MARTIN JOHANSSON, NILS WAHL, ULF BERNITZ (Eds.): Liber Amicorum in honour of Sven Norberg. A European for All Seasons. Bruylant (67 rue de la Régence, B-1000 Brussels. Tel. (32-2) 5129842 - Fax: 5119477 - Internet: http://www.bruylant.be ). 2006, 572 pp, €115. ISBN 2-8027-2224-7.
In a delectable preface, former EU Commissioner Mario Monti imagines Sven Norberg browsing in a bookshop and coming across this book. His innate modesty encouraging him to ignore the overly pleasant title, but he finds in the book the proof of massive market fixing since the essays reveal a hard core of a cartel aiming to share out inter-connected markets among the participants. The former 'most powerful man in Europe' delves into the mind of Sven Norberg and explains that there was an aggravating circumstance, namely that all the participants had great knowledge of legal affairs and, worse still, most of them were well informed about competition law in particular. And the fact that this cartel of friends was formed to pay tribute to Sven Norberg upon his departure from the European Commission would not merit any leniency from this man of integrity although, as Mario Monti points out, a policy of making allowances should be applied in this case because those behind the offence confessed to being the instigators …
Does anyone in the general public know of Sven Norberg, anyone outside Sweden that is? The question speaks for itself. The first achievement of this fine book is to remind us that men (and women) exist behind the scenes who have a decisive influence on the evolution of the society in which they are active. Swedish national Sven Norberg is a member of the race of high ranking civil servants - and European civil servants (Europe here extending beyond the European Union) - who through their service to the art of politics have deeply and sustainably influenced the course of events. This is definitely the case for this lawyer whose CV would take up many pages of this European Library series. To keep things brief, one only needs to remember that the European Economic Area of the countries of the EU and those of the European Free Trade Association is what it is today, along with the EFTA Court (which is the effective extension of the European Court of Justice), because of Sven Norberg and the team of lawyers he headed during the negotiations in the early 1990s. I should also point out that once Sweden joined the EU and Sven Norberg became Director of DG Competition at the Commission, he had a huge influence on the reform of competition policy that was implemented in 2003. All his friends, staff, colleagues and academic partners writing in this book found it easy to comment on various dossiers 'managed' by this great figurehead at some point in his career (hence the highly appropriate title of the book 'A European for All Seasons'). Most of the eye-witness reports explain that his career was also characterised by an unusual capacity to conduct affairs and encourage the best energy through his pleasant manner and ability to listen.
It will come as no surprise to learn that this book is based on issues connected with the economy and competition against the backdrop of the European Union and the European Economic Union. It will be a joy for lawyers and experts in these fields to read but will also delight political analysts. As an example I will cite two essays dealing with issues that are currently flavour of the month, namely the eternal debate surrounding enlargement and deepening of the EU and the question of how far the EU should finally extend. Systematically describing the silent success of ten years of the European Economic Area, Thérèse Blanchet, advisor to the Legal Service of the Council of the EU (and former member of the Legal Affairs Department at the EFTA Secretariat) comments that the integration methods used in the EEA Agreement, in other words integration without accession, have shown their worth and can be used again because the agreement works well because the EFTA pillar bodies threw themselves into making the EEA work well and helped turn it into a legitimate legal body. She explains that some of the solutions thought up back then for enabling neighbours to draw closer to the sun without melting into it could be usefully examined and used again for one of the hypotheses of concentric circles in the future. She recognises that there is a fundamental difference (and problem) now, which is that the partner of the EEA which does not actually want accession is not one of the EU's refractory neighbours this time but the European Union itself… In the same spirit Maria Westman-Clément asks whether in the light of the French and Dutch no votes, the EEA was a missed opportunity for the EU because it is a fact that the sheer speed of recent rounds of enlargement has not exactly worked in favour of homogeneity in the club. Special advisor to the Swedish Justice Ministry, Westman-Clement answers Jacques Delors (who answered one of her questions in 1989: 'Mademoiselle! You probably know how to ride a bike - what happens when you stop pedalling?') by saying that it is not enough to simply pedal to stop your bike from falling over - you also have to keep your balance and head in a certain direction. Food for thought in this epoch when some people even dream of members of the EU joining a European Free Trade Association which some should probably never have left …
Michel Theys
*** MARIANNE DONY (Ed.): Contrôle des aides d'Etat. 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). "Commentaire J. Mégret" series. 2007, 529 pp, €75. ISBN 2-8004-1389-1.
The books in this series are seen as vital reading by specialists and this book by an academic and two lawyers close to the 'Université libre de Bruxelles' is no exception to the rule or to the scientific rigour characterising the series. The first part of the book is devoted to the basic rules applicable to state aid at EU level. The criteria defining state aid are described in detail in the first chapter, which focuses on two issues - the criterion of operator in a market economy and compensation for public service duties. The second chapter deals with derogations from the principle of banning state aid. The granting of derogations depends largely on the Commission's power of judgement and the Commission's practices in this field are systematically analysed by the authors. The second part of the book covers procedural state aid control rules which were defined for a very long time by the Commission's practices and the case law of European courts. Later confirmed by a regulation adopted in 1999, these rules are described in detail in a chapter on the fundamental distinction between a priori control of new aid and the constant examination of existing aid. The last chapter looks at appeals taken to court with two areas coming in for particular attention from the authors, namely how the roles of national and EU courts mesh and the different parties being taken to court over the Commission's views (or lack of them). A fine reference book!
(MT)
*** PAOLISA NEBBIA: Unfair Contract Terms in European Law. A Study in Comparative and EC Law. Hart Publishing (16C Worcester Place, Oxford, OX1 2JW, UK. Tel: (44-1865) 517530 - Fax: 510710 - E-mail: mail@hartpub.co.uk - Internet: http://www.hartpub.co.uk ). "Modern Studies in European Law" series, No. 15. 2007, 225 pp. ISBN 1-84113-594-1.
This book takes as its starting point European Directive 93/13 on unfair clauses in consumer contracts. The directive aims to boost the single market by reducing obstacles and uncertainties surrounding company exports and consumer cross-border shopping. It therefore naturally covers consumer protection as well. Alongside a study of the directive and how the two objectives interlink, Paolisa Nebbia also compares and contrasts national and EU law (in the form of this directive) and examines how they influence each other. The author chose English and Italian law for this purpose (also referring to German and French law) because as Paolisa Nebbia explains, English and Italian law are at opposite ends of the spectrum not only in technical and legal methods terms but also through their different concepts of the role of law in society. She demonstrates how the directive is interpreted differently depending on national traditions, which takes us to the second part of the book where the author outlines the emerging European legal traditions and how this is connected with national legal traditions. Paolisa Nebbia points out, for example, that the European Court of Justice could be the engine of European integration but national courts rarely want to cause European waves but European waves are ever more frequently lapping at the shores of domestic contract law.
(FRo)
*** ROGER CLARKE, ELEANOR J. MORGAN: New Developments in UK and EU Competition Policy. Edward Elgar Publishing Ltd (Glensanda House, Montpellier Parade, Cheltenham, Glos GL50 1UA, UK. Tel: (44-1242) 226934 - Fax: 262111 - E-mail: info@e-elgar.co.uk - Internet: http://www.e-elgar.com ). 2006, 320 pp, £65. ISBN 1-84542-122-1.
Competition law has changed many times in recent years, mainly because there is greater recognition of the fact that the level of competition is a decisive element in the market's capacity to bring in economic efficiency, and its importance in terms of providing benefits to consumers, explain the books' editors at the outset. This is true at European level with the introduction, for example of the new updating regulation reviewing EU anti-monopoly legislation, and the 2004 rules on mergers and acquisitions. It is also true at national level with the 1998 Competition Act in the United Kingdom for example, or the UK's Enterprise Act of 2002. This book describes and comments on these changes with the dozen or authors covering issues like mergers in the EU, competition and intellectual property and control of state aid, examining each issue and highlighting the problematic areas. Roger Clarke and Eleanor J. Morgan look in their conclusions at possible future developments.
(FRo)
*** CHRISTOPHER STOTHERS: Parallel Trade in Europe. Intellectual Property, Competition and Regulatory Law. Hart Publishing (16C Worcester Place, Oxford, OX1 2JW, UK. Tel: (44-1865) 517530 - Fax: 510710 - E-mail: mail@hartpub.co.uk - Internet: http://www.hartpub.co.uk ). 2007, 455 pp, £95. ISBN 1-84113-437-6.
Parallel trade can be defined as the transfer by a third party of goods sold in one country by the manufacturer to another country for which the product was not aimed by the manufacturer. In the introduction Christopher Stothers raises the fundamental question running throughout the book - whether parallel imports are the key to free trade, overturning old national barriers for the benefit of all, or whether parallel imports operate in a dodgy grey area for their own benefit, freely profiting from investment and innovation by brand name holders to the ultimate detriment of all. In order to answer the question, he takes an unbiased look at relevant areas of international, national and more importantly European law. An ideal place for studying this is the European Single Market, whose aims can sometimes be out of step with the real world. Readers will soon realises that there are plenty of disputes (the book refers to many areas of case law). There are many different forms of parallel trade ranging from repackaging medicines, for example, to the sale of car spare parts based on manufacturer's designs, and national legislation in this area is incoherent. The author therefore makes a detailed and exhaustive analysis of parallel trade and the impact of EU legislation, particularly in the light of competition law and intellectual property rights. As Christopher Stothers points out, some people describe parallel trade as a parasite and recent studies of the EU pharmaceutical market have ended up making very different conclusions. The author raises questions and provides some answers without taking sides.
(FRo)
*** ULLA LIUKKUNEN: Cross-Border Services and Choice of Law. A Comparative Study of the European Approach. Peter Lang (1 Moosstrasse, CH-2542 Pieterlen. Tel: (41-32) 3761717 - Fax: 3761727 - E-mail: info@peterlang.com - Internet: http://www.peterlang.de ). "Internationalrechtliche Studien" series, No. 45. 2006, 290 pp. ISBN 3-631-55964-X.
Liberalisation of services in the Single Market has not been an easy task and there are many areas which still pose obstacles to full liberalisation, like conflicting legislation applying to cross-border services. It is in the full interest of parties to a contract to supply cross-border services to stipulate in the contract which legal system shall apply to the contract, but things do not always turn out like this in practice. Ulla Liukkunen studies issues surrounding the choice of the legal system that shall apply and also provides an overview of the law of conflicts and the elements giving rise to such fragmentation of this area of international private law at EU level. The issue is hugely influenced by the international environment and the author starts by describing the international backdrop, comparing and contrasting international private law as it is understood in the European and US systems before looking in more detail at how it impacts and how it is changing at EU level.
(FRo)