*** MICHEL DUMOULIN (Ed.): La Commission européenne 1958-1972. Histoire et mémoires d'une institution. Office des publications officielles des Communautés européennes (Internet: http: //bookshop.europa.eu/).2007, 642 pp, €30. ISBN 978-92-79-05495-2.
Take a handful of eminent historians and add some living memory, that of stakeholders still passionate about the mission accomplished. Add a pinch of significant and often moving iconography, and serve in a graphic nest prepared with as much loving attention as possible and characterised by tremendous sobriety. The ingredients all contribute to a majestic tome which is a true event in itself. It is also, first and foremost, the most beautiful tribute that could be paid - and should be paid! - to the handful of men and women who invented a new culture, to figures unknown to the general public but who will go down in history, as a comment from the preface by José Manuel Barroso puts it, as the founders of a historic movement with continental scope which, half a century later, has allowed the construction of a peaceful union of democratic states.
This exceptional book stands out for several reasons. Firstly, it could never have seen the light of day without the perseverance of several 'oldies' who, although retirement age arrived long since, still dedicate themselves more fervently then ever - and full time - to their European ideals and European endeavours. The idea of a book describing the first steps of the burgeoning Commission, explaining its role in the process of implementing treaties and the changes which the European Commission has undergone, through successes and setbacks, as Prof. Dumoulin points out - during the period from the start of 1958 until the application of the enlargement process from the first Six member states to Nine on 6 January 1973 - came from some of these 'oldies', their enthusiasm and European faith as strong as ever, a faith which continues to move mountains, be they administrative mountains, led by Jacqueline Lastenouse and Jacques-René Rabier. The book only saw the light of day through Romano Prodi's listening skills, who was President of the Commission when this fine compilation of living memories was being launched - although the process had to take the form of calls for tender, an incongruous bedfellow for such a project, before it was possible to get down to work.
This out of the ordinary book is also unusual because it dips into the collective memory of the institution through the memories of the activists who served the cause at the time of its beginnings. For nearly three years, Belgian, German, Italian, Dutch and French historians interviewed more than 120 eyewitnesses of the birth of the Commission. Their interviews can now be accessed by researchers at the EU's history archives managed by the European University Institute in Florence, Italy. By sharing their memories and eye witness accounts with historians, these senior members of the European project made it possible to approach events from the inside, a generally little-known inside, of an institution at the heart of European Community life about which they retain vast knowledge about the careers, experiences and mindsets of individuals and departments, explain in the foreword some of the senior members who witnessed the institution's birth and watched it grow up. This is truly precious stuff! But as far as the historians were concerned, this manna from heaven that they were able to collect also bore the markings of a potential threat. Like any act of journalism, living memory is subjective, from the objective point of view. The watchful scientific eye of a suspicious historian is required or, at the very least, taking things with a pinch of salt. As Prof. Michel Dumoulin of the 'Université catholique de Louvain' in Belgium explains, making recourse to oral history is not a panacea, given that the sources are not, as Danièle Voldman poetically puts it, 'the font of all Truth'. For a historian, the sheer complexity of the collection and the use of oral eye witness accounts adds to the complexity, when compiling the history of an institution, of agreement among witnesses. Clearly, on account of former solidarities, common views of the meaning of past experience can cause hefty problems for historians trying to prove that another interpretation of the past is possible. This last quotation is an elegant way of recognising that the book, before it took form, was also the cause of many contractions and tensions.
All the protagonists in this venture can tell themselves, however, that it was worthwhile experiencing this double venture - that of the book and, even more so, that of the virtual beginnings of the European integration process. Especially when it is told in the style in which the history unfolds in this book, which aims to be neither an apology nor a handbook of the perfect little European, but rather, in the distinguished, pertinent wording of President Barroso, as the tale of a passionate political epoch. In the first section of the book, the authors, who are all historians and prestigious ones at that, listen to the heartbeat and check out the kidney function of the institution and its players: the work of the Interim Committee; the Hallstein Commission, Hallstein being described as a 'determined European'; the Empty Chair crisis; the development of the single Commission with Jean Rey, described as a European at heart with moderate optimism; the short-lived Malfatti Presidency; the courage and strong ideas of Sicco Mansholt; the College of Commissioners or the emergence of 'new types of public authority'; the grand servant of the European Community, Emile Noël, and more. The second part looks at policies, from the not quite common market at the time of the first round of enlargement which also experienced the Commission in search of a role for itself. At that time, the page was still blank, or near enough. The men and women who speak in this book have helped ensure the page has been filled. To this end, as unknown as they are to the common man in the street, they have helped write history and forge a new, still fragile, culture, to which we are all heirs.
Michel Theys
*** GENEVIEVE DUCHENNE, VINCENT DUJARDIN, MICHEL DUMOULIN (Eds.): Paul-Henri Spaak et la France. Bruylant (67 rue de la Régence, B-1000 Brussels. Tel: (32-2) 5129842 - Fax: 5119477 - Internet: http://www.bruylant.be ). "Bibliothèque de la Fondation Paul-Henri Spaak" series, No. 11. 2007, 300 pp. ISBN 978-2-8027-2413-1.
The proceedings of a conference organised to accompany the presentation by the Paul-Henri Spaak Foundation chaired by Etienne Davignon, of CD-ROMs of the archives of Belgian statesman Paul-Henri Spaak at the 'Université catholique de Louvain' in Belgium, this book provides very useful insight into the maturing of political thought by this 'father of Europe' from the start of the 1930s onwards, and his action in the field of Franco-Belgian relations, which were so complex for so long. Spaak's views, which for a long time were the incarnation of Belgian foreign policy with regard to Charles de Gaulle, are studied from various angles. The future of Europe finally saw them pitted against each other as determined enemies.
(MT)
*** JOHN P. McCORMICK: Weber, Habermas, and Transformations of the European State. Constitutional, Social, and Supranational Democracy. Cambridge University Press (The Edinburgh Building, Shaftesbury Road, Cambridge CB2 2RU, UK. Tel: (44-1223) 312393 - Fax: 315052 - Internet: http://www.cambridge.org ). 2007, 301 .pp, £50. ISBN 978-0-521-81140-8.
As John P. McCormick points out in the introduction, "when challenged by the reality of the vast changes of the state order today, theoretically informed researchers have a tendency to reach back for categories formulated through the analysis of previous periods and impose them on the new situations". Hence, comments this professor in politics at Chicago University, "the contemporary literature on European integration seems haunted by (categories derived from previous epochs)". Max Weber and Jürgen Habermas are high in the list of philosophers of the evolution of European nations. John McCormich mainly bases himself on their theories and the contemporary versions they gave rise to. Habermas himself would have revisited Weber's theories in the light of European integration, failing to be caught out by the same false move, that of projecting the treaties of the past too far into the future. The author questions Habermas' changed attitude when dealing with European integration, "when a theorist such as Habermas abandons, even reverses, the analysis of one socio-political configuration at the moment he's confronted with a new one", thus moving away from the empirical rigour of his previous work to adopt what is perhaps a more ideological approach that leads him to deal with European integration in what is probably too similar a fashion to the approach applied to the United Nations. Which also makes it over plausible that a continental regime would develop. The author argues that this "Rechstaat" and Weber and Habermas' "Sozialstaat" have probably been outstripped by many aspects of the political and institutional reality of the European Union, where it might be more appropriate to talk of "Sektoralstaat" when descibing the seizing of control over various domains by those who are the most concerned or have the most to gain. The book enables one to place in perspective the theoretical foundations that are often too simplistically taken as read during contemporary efforts to understand "how democracy and the rule of law may be secured and advanced in supranational institutions such as the EU".
(FRo)
*** JOHN MCCORMICK: Contemporary Britain. Palgrave Macmillan (Houndmills, Basingstoke, Hampshire RG21 6XS, UK. Tel: (44-1256) 329242 - Fax: 812521 - Internet: http://www.palgrave.com ). "Contemporary States and Societies" series. 2007, 258 pp, £15-99. ISBN 978-0-230-00214-2.
Best-selling English author John McCormick provides us here with a highly comprehensive update of his 2003 book on contemporary Britain, which "provides the key facts and figures that are needed to place Britain in context with other countries - especially its European neighbours". History, geography, the economy, society, culture and politics - the full gamut of characteristics of the United Kingdom are covered in the book, making it ideal "for anyone looking for a brief and accessible guide to this remarkable country". The author also tries to understand the role of his country in the world order. He disagrees with the idea that the UK is in decline. Describing the British Commonwealth as "weak" and regretting that the privileged relationship with the United States only goes one way, he urges fellow Britons to wake up to the fact that the future of Great Britain is in the European Union.
(TBa)
*** A-J. D. METAXAS: About Greece. General Secretariat of Communication (Athens). 2007, 452 pp.. ISBN 978-960-89780-0-3.
Arising from the collaboration of a raft of authors selected for their ability to "present a justified analysis", this book provides information about modern Greece. It is divided into six chapters - describing the country and its history; the Greek political system; education and culture; society; information technology and research; and, finally, a chapter on 'Greece and the World'. The last chapter, in addition to analysing Greek foreign policy, discusses Greece's relations with its neighbours and its role within the European Union. The authors discuss "the tremendous changes that this country has undergone from a state of denial to one of the more pro-integrationist member states", given that the vast majority of the Greek government and public opinion seem to have been won over to the European cause.
(TBa)
*** A-J. D. METAXAS: About brand Greece. General Secretariat of Communication (Athens). 2007, 284 pp. ISBN 978-960-89780-1-0.
This book has been drawn up in the same way as the one above, but its content is substantially different. It focusses on Brand Greece, in other worlds on what characterises Greece, distinguishes it from its neighbours and makes it an indispensable partner for its neighbours in a raft of domains. From the starting point that Greece "has been repositioned on the global map of perceptions" and is now "regarded as a stable and reliable environment", this selection of articles aims first and foremost to shed light on the country's strong points in terms of the economy, tourism, culture, transport, energy, etc. It studies key sections of the Greek economy, describes the main challenges facing the country (being part of the EU, liberalisation, privatisations, etc.) and analyses the various factors that make Greece a country which is opening up to the outside world and turning into the economic engine for south-central Europe.
(TBa)
*** PHILIPPE DELOIRE: L'Europe des 30 en marche. Editeur Gualino (31 rue Falguière, F-75741 Paris cedex 15. Tel: (33-1) 56541600 - Fax: 56541649 - E-mail: Gualino@eja.fr - Internet: http://www.eja.fr ). 2007, 331 pp,€28. ISBN 978-2-84200-667-9.
With a constantly growing EU, it is legitimate for citizens to be somewhat concerned about future enlargement to Croatia and Macedonia and the controversial Turkey. Fear is often caused by ignorance and Philippe Deloire has taken the initiative to design a six-chapter book to help convey information about EU enlargement. In the first section, he looks at the current 27-member state EU, describing it in detail with up-to-date information on its geography, social and economic affairs, assessing the new member states and the challenges facing the EU on the budget and institutional level. The second chapter outlines the accession process, describing the Copenhagen Criteria which candidate countries have to meet, the process of preparing new member states to join the club, negotiating the accession treaties and ratifying and signing them. The third chapter looks in more detail at changes in the institutions of the expanded EU, while the fourth looks at the budget and financial impact of the fifth round of enlargement. The penultimate chapter discusses the economic and social challenges facing the enlarged EU - the new members of the eurozone, the economic cohesion and social cohesion policies and the Common Agriculture Policy. The final chapter of this well laid-out and instructive book looks at the EU's new frontiers and the EU's relations with its new neighbours.
(NDu)