*** LAURENT BEURDELEY, RENAUD DE LA BROSSE, FABIENNE MARON (Eds.): L'Union européenne et ses espaces de proximité. Entre stratégie inclusive et partenariats rénovés: quel avenir pour le nouveau voisinage de l'Union? Etablissements Bruylant (67 rue de la Régence, B-1000 Brussels. Tel: (32-2) 5129842 - Fax: 5119477 - Internet: http://www.bruylant.be ). "Voisinages européens" series, No. 1. 2007, 372 pp, €45. ISBN 978-2-8027-2385-1.
What are we supposed to make of the European Neighbourhood Policy that was developed at the advent and against the background of the most recent enlargements of the European Union? This question was at the heart of the debate at an interdisciplinary academic conference in Reims, France, organised by Champagne-Ardennes University, the proceedings of which are accurately published in this book. The tome aims to provide in-depth understanding of existing partnerships on the technical, political and financial fronts, in order to best determine what the new EU foreign policy instrument's value-added might be. The authors have clearly made a success of this, except that the conference was held in December … 2005 and much water has flowed under the bridge since then, flowing from the EU to its southern and eastern neighbours. Hence many of the essays are naturally starting to wilt when it comes to facts. Although they are still interesting, the reader can only rely on the facts by taking other, further and reliable research as a starting point to update the dossiers examined in this book.
With this one reservation, the book (the first in a new series) is of interest in that it focusses attention on the challenges that are normally hidden by the maelstrom of current events. For example, in the second part of the book, looking at what value-added the new partnerships might provide for eligible countries, the authors go from Ukraine to Moldova, via the Community of Independent States, and from North Africa to Palestine; all these areas being seen against the backdrop of their location on the fringes of the European Union.
The first part of the book asks crucial questions about the nature of the European Neighbourhood Policy, seen by some as an alternative to the EU continuing to expand. Has this new situation been dictated by the interests of the EU alone to spread its democratic market economy model at any cost? Will the 'neighbours' be able to subscribe to all the obligations imposed (human rights and fundamental freedoms) and does the new ENP respond to the needs of their populations? Most importantly, is this new offering seen, as Laurent Beurdeley writes in the introduction, as sufficient and suitable for providing significant leverage for reform, thereby enabling the expected levels of stability and security to be achieved, although to date, only the prospect of joining the EU has proved a powerful catalyst for change? All are legitimate - and often dodged - questions, to which the authors provide answers characterised by scientific criticism, like options sketched out by Laurent Beurdeley who, after explaining that guaranteeing the hermetic sealing of external borders has become an obsession for most European leaders, notes that the strengthened or privileged partnerships will only be credible if they do more than simply set up a free trade zone; and only the emergence in time of a true common area, necessarily implying the free circulation of individuals, is capable of heading off the aspirations of some neighbours to join the EU.
In the same vein of scientifically and politically incorrect questioning, starting from the principle that a neighbourhood policy is a foreign policy for the proximity, Prof. Michel Hastings of the 'Institut d'études Politiques de Lille' observes that it is probably through experiencing its external limits that Europe best experiences the paradoxical questions of its modern identity and the fragility of its old certainties, because, he notes, while it is people who make Europe, they do not always know what type of Europe they actually want. This professor of politics then submits a rapid phenomenological study of neighbourhood, neighbours being both a proximity figure, he feels (the EU selects its neighbours itself in line with criteria felt to be out of bounds for negotiations, with neighbours being defined as allies and backers before they are seen as partners), and .'others' (foreignness, representing a watered-down form of oneself but not yet 'us') along with the 'social partner' with neighbours being seen as partners in an act of communication, a fundamental gesture of human society. He goes on to observe that the European Neighbourhood Policy is a confusing generic term because it brings together a wide variety of different types of contractual relationships, the case of Turkey being exemplary of a process of requalifying-disqualifying of a former neighbour to whom one has already sent a written invitation, defining them as an intruder now trying to gatecrash. And at the same time new members of the EU are 'ex-neighbours', in other words immigrant countries that have been granted their EU residence cards, a former aspiring member finds itself an EU customs officer… To sum up, after making a convincing argument for neighbours to query the nature of what is being built today using the name of Europe, the European Neighbourhood Policy would become an opportunity to recite Europe's identity saga, pointing out the ideals it was formed out of, its founding beliefs and shared values, Michel Hastings notes an urge to spread democracy at the margins of Europe and warns that attention should be paid that this crowning virtue of Europeanised neighbours, socialised in European democracy, does not turn into a vast inner-city of discontent where all the resentment that has accumulated down the ages sits and festers. He warns that one must not, through false promises or genuine arrogance, turn these communities, these people who are waiting, into people who have lost hope. Food for thought, along with many other areas of the analysis carried out in the book!
Michel Theys
*** RONALD HATTO, ODETTE TOMESCU: The EU and the Wider Black Sea Region: Challenges and Policy Options. Garnet Network of Excellence (56 rue Jacob, F-75006 Paris. Tel: (33-1) 58717000 - Fax: 58717091 - Internet: http://www.garnet-eu.org ). "Garnet Policy Brief" series, No. 5. 2008, 8 pp.
The Garnet Network of Excellence, formed from the EU's 6th Framework Programme of R&D out of 42 European universities and research centres, comprises researchers, analysts and practitioners from many different disciplines. Coordinated by the Centre for the Study of Globalisation and Regionalisation of Warwick University in the UK (the 'Centre d'études et de recherches internationales de Sciences Po' in France is responsible for disseminating the work), it aims to make political recommendations for decision-makers. In this issue on the geopolitics of the Black Sea region, two politics lecturers discuss the European challenges in the region - the tricky issue of its over-dependence on Russian energy, stability in a region of wars and conflicts in the past, the question of respect of human rights and democracy, counter-terrorism and tackling organised crime. They go on to assess the challenges of the various players in the region: Western powers like the EU and the United States, new kids on the block in a region where their interests are growing; Russia and Turkey, which view this intrusion in their area of influence with hostility, aiming to maintain the status quo; Ukraine, Georgia, Romania and Bulgaria, which are trying, despite limited room for manoeuvre, to defend their own interests. The book then describes the various economic and political cooperation programmes in the region, and strategies to move closer to the EU and NATO. The conclusion looks at the geopolitical directions that could be built in the area.
(NDu)
*** BRUNO COPPIETERS: The EU and Georgia: time perspectives in conflict resolution. European Institute for Security Studies (43 av. du Président Wilson, F-75775 Paris cedex 16. Tel: (33-1) 56891930 - Fax: 56891931 - E-mail: info@iss.europa.eu - Internet: http://www.iss.europa.eu ). Occasional Papers, No. 70. 2007, 31 pp. ISBN 978-92-9198-122-9.
Professor of politics at Brussels University, Bruno Coppieters looks in this occasional paper at the difference of opinions between the EU and Georgia when it comes to the urgency of resolving the secessionist conflicts in Georgia. As the author points out, this study defends the argument that differences of time perspectives, namely Georgia's impatience and the EU's patience as illustrated by the European Neighbourhood Policy, is a significant characteristic in relations between the EU and Georgia when it comes to conflict resolution, that can only be "be analysed through a differentiation" between the various objectives of the conflict resolution policies of the two sides in question. Moving on from here, feasible crisis exit options are studied, followed by an examination of the EU's four objectives when it comes to crisis resolution in the conflicts between Georgia and South Ossetia and Georgia and Abkhazia. Noting that European Union and Georgia should "avoid an imbalance between these four objectives", the author tries to determine the best way to strike an acceptable balance. This article makes a raft of useful suggestions with a view to solving this difficult issue for the EU. The author points out that "the status quo is not an option" and "patience will be needed".
(TBa)
*** MARC PALLEMAERTS, ARMELLE GOURITIN: La stratégie de l'Union européenne en faveur du développement durable. Centre de Recherche et d'Information Socio-Politiques (Crisp, 1A place Quetelet, B-1210 Brussels. Tel: (32-2) 2110180 - Fax: 2197934 - Internet: http://www.crisp.be ). "Courrier hebdomadaire" series, No. 1961. 2007, 45 pp, €6-90.
The authors of this newsletter take a critical look at the drafting and impact of the sustainable development strategy adopted at the Gothenburg European Council in 2001, and the new version decided upon in 2006. Their analysis leads to comment that this pledge by the EU remains ambiguous, to say the least, characterised by a huge gap between words and deed. Why? Because of the ambivalent nature of the EU institutions and the Member States, not to mention the more general crisis of European governance.
(PBo)
*** FLEUR FRAGOLA: Vers une politique ferroviaire européenne. L'Europe à toute vapeur ? Editions L'Harmattan (5-7 rue de l'École-Polytechnique, F-75005 Paris. Tel: (33-1) 40467920 - Fax: 43258203 - E-mail: diffusion.harmattan@wanadoo.fr - Internet: http://www.librairieharmattan.com ). "Questions contemporaines" series. 2007, 126 pp, €12-50. ISBN 978-2-296-04039-7.
Although included in the Treaty of Rome, the establishment of an EU railway strategy did not really begin to take shape until after 1991. Since the railways are an issue of fundamental importance to the member states and highly separated from other areas, railway policy has become more European in recent years due to the Single Market, the need for the free circulation of goods and individuals that arises from the Single Market. If one adds in town and country planning concerns, social concerns vis-à-vis the idea of public service and the ever growing fears about the environment, it is easy to understand the growing importance of this domain on the European agenda. There is a double challenge of creating a single, unified market through deregulation and free access to networks; and encouraging an interoperability dynamic on the trans-European railway network. Responsible for European issues at the French state railway company SNCF, Fleur Fragola looks in this book at the EU's impact on national railways. To this end, she focuses on the French and English models because they are most unlike each other and the most exemplary at EU level. The analysis covers the national and supranational level in order to give an idea of the dynamics created between the authorities in question. Following the first chapter exploring the concepts of European integration and Europeanisation, along with a note on the history of the railways and how it has evolved over the years, the author compares the French and English railway systems to illustrate how the two countries have responded to European demands and to discern similarities in their Europeanisation. The third part of the book examined the EU strategy itself, the direct impact of this policy and the potential consequences at national level. A feeling of progress emerges from the conclusion, given the sheer speed and impact of the common rail policy on EU Member States and the appearance of an EU dynamic towards ever greater integration in the industry.
(NDu)
*** ANNIE CUDENNEC, GAELLE GUEGUEN-HALLOUET (Ed.): L'Union européenne et la mer. Vers une politique maritime de l'Union européenne? Editions A. Pedone (13 rue Soufflot, F-75005 Paris. Tel: (33-1) 43540597 - Fax: 46340760). 2007, 437 pp, €42. ISBN 978-2-233-00518-2.
Inspired by recent events like the creation of a European Union Maritime Policy Task Force at the fisheries DG at the European Commission and the publication of the Commission's Green Paper on the issue, this book publishes the proceedings of a conference held in Brest, France, in October 2006. The various participants aimed to establish whether the advent of an EU sea policy was really under way and to seek to lay the basis for such a possible integration of maritime questions. Attempting to steer clear of the debate over sovereignty in Europe, the authors attempted to define an overall strategic vision of what our relationship should be with seas and oceans in order to make the most of sustainable development. Their observations cannot be challenged - the integration of maritime policies at EU level would make it possible to rationalise surveillance tools, avoid an overlap of regulations and, most importantly, remedy the complexity of territorial systems in existence today. Building on from this, all the various options are explored for EU management of the maritime areas, taking account of the legal possibilities available to the EU. The various reflections follow two main directions - regulation of activity and preservation of the maritime milieu. Among the questions raised are the need to move beyond sector-specific EU policies, where the authors take a very daring view, going as far as suggesting a new 'super-department' at the Commission covering all the different DGs. This book makes a highly comprehensive and detailed feasibility study of the potential establishment of an EU maritime area.
(TBa)