*** HANS-GEORG BABKE (Ed.): Die Zukunftsfähigkeit des Föderalismus in Deutschland und Europa. Peter Lang (1 Moosstrasse, CH-2542 Pieterlen, Switzerland. Tel: (41-32) 3761717 - Fax: 3761727 - email: info@peterlang.com - Internet: http://www.peterlang.com ). "Braunschweiger Beiträge zur Socialethik" series, No. 1. 2007, 162 pp, €31.80. ISBN 978-3-631-56236-9.
This is the first in a new series of studies on social ethics, arising from a conference organised by the Lutheran Evangelical Academy in Braunschweig. The key question is whether federalism still has a future in Germany and in Europe. The original motivation for asking this question arose from the problems encountered in the reform of various federal structures in the old Federal Republic of Germany (Western Germany) in December 2004, and the rejection of the draft constitutional treaty of the European Union in the referendums in France and the Netherlands. One of the aims of this publication is to show how Europe can get out of the current impasse.
The first observation in the book is on Euroscepticism. The editor points out that it arises from the way ordinary people and civil society feel they have been left out of the fundamental structural decisions about changes to Europe. The European Union's 'democratic deficit' is therefore the focus of the authors' concerns. On this basis, the articles provide original perspectives from a more historical and theoretical standpoint than political practicality, covering the nature of democracy in the form in which it exists in Europe today by looking at the traditions upon which it is based.
The openly religious character of the body that organised the conference explains the approach taken in the essays. The first, by William J. Hoye, analyses the religious and cultural roots of concepts of Western democracy. More specifically, it looks at the role played in this domain by Christian, evangelist and Puritan traditions in the movements that led in Northern America to the affirmation of the freedom and equality of individuals in the Declaration of Independence of 1776. The author makes a very interesting analysis of the expressly democratic nature of the ecclesiology of the Protestant congregations in the New World - differing in this respect from the institutional rigidity of the clergy in the Catholic and Anglican traditions - and the way in which the nature of this religious society, which affirmed the God-given sovereignty of the people, communicated itself to the political system, combining the development of freedom of political thought with religious freedom. There is then an article by Arnulf von Scheliha analysing the religious and cultural nature of Western democratic constitutions compared with the tensions imposed on them by the cultural plurality of modern European society, particularly in relation to the religious diversity of Germany. The specific position of Muslims is studied, leading the author to consider the position of religions in general in what is known as 'European civil society' and the way the European Union has to develop relations with the reality of religions, taking account of the fact that the many calls for the 'Christian' nature of European heritage to be asserted have not resulted in the expected success of being included in the draft constitutional treaty. Hans Michael Heining then analyses the principles underlying European law in connection with a body that started as an economic entity, in the light of the creation of the Common Market, and which is currently seeking political openness by looking for the basic values it should move towards. The next argument developed is the connection between subsidiarity and federalism, with Friedrich Heckman looking at whether the subsidiarity set out in the 1992 Maastricht Treaty is the key solution to the European social policy question. The author goes as far as arguing that the principle of subsidiarity (whose religious origins he describes in the article) should become the fundamental principle underpinning the European Union. Subsidiarity can act as a brake on the centralised red tape approaches of Brussels and could also gradually give rise to the type of federalism needed by Europe and thereby contribute to the development of a new type of democracy that is closer to the citizens than the affirmation of a far too abstract type of citizenship these days. An illustration of this influence is given in an analysis of the right to healthcare, where Hartmut Kreß explains how the right to healthcare can be developed at various levels - ethically, legally and politically - as a result of people getting involved in the issue. The book ends with an more theoretical analysis by Hein Retter of American philosopher John Dewey's ideas on policy, education and religion, in which he shows how Dewey's ideas about society in his day can contribute to the current debate on the future of Europe.
At first sight, the book appears to discuss the situation in the EU in crisis in a manner which is totally alien from classic political analysis but in reality, it is very pertinent. Readers may not be used to analysing the historic and cultural origins of problems facing modern society and may think they are wasting their time looking at the impact of the Connecticut constitution on the development of democracy in Europe, but as long as readers agree to be carried along by reflection that generates new perspectives, without having to share the authors' religious views, they will benefit from opening their minds to greater understanding of current developments.
Gabriel Fragnière
*** Religion and Politics in the New Europe. Catholics for Choice (1436 U Street NW, Suite 301 Washington, DC 20009, USA. Tel: (1-202) 9866093 - Fax: 3327995 - email: cfc@catholicsforchoice.org - Internet: http://www.catholicsforchoice.org ). 2008, 64 pp. ISBN 0-915365-90-1.
This publication includes the proceedings of a conference organised by the Catholics for Choice association at the European Parliament in November 2007 that focussed on two themes, namely secularism and the soul of Europe and equality, religions and representation in Europe. What is the proper role for religious people in a secular state? Can secular states decide between the contradictory interests of people of different religious beliefs? Do religions like Catholicism and Islam set out separate spheres of authority for religion and politics? Many other questions were also addressed at the conference.
(PBo)
*** SERGIO PISTONE: The Union of European Federalists. From the foundation to the decision on direct election of the European Parliament (1946-1974). Giuffrè Editore (40 via Busto Arsizio, I-20151 Milan. Tel: (39-2) 38089290 - Fax: 38009582 - Internet: http://www.giuffre.it ). "Centro studi sul federalismo - Centre for Studies on Federalism" series, No. 7. 2008, 235 pp, €25. ISBN 88-14-14251-3.
The English translation of an Italian book "L'Unione dei Federalisti Europei" published by Alfredo Guida Editore, this fine book tells the story of the Union of European Federalists (UEF) and its fight for a full European federation extending beyond the European Union as such. The author, Prof. Sergio Pistone of Turin University in Italy, meshes scientific rigour with political commitment because he has been a UEF activist since 1954 and is therefore able to explain some things from the inside, and highly valuable this proves to be. He goes back to the origins of the UEF in the Resistance, reporting on its first twenty-eight years of existence, in other words the time leading up until the decision by European heads of state in 1974 to hold the first European elations by universal suffrage in 1979. Prof. Pistone describes this decisions as a turning point in the history of the European unification process and a decisive event in the fight for the setting up of a European federation. (MT)
*** ANDRE LIEBICH, BASIL GERMOND (Ed.): Construire l'Europe. Mélanges en hommage à Pierre du Bois. Presses universitaires de France (6 av. Reille, F-75014 Paris). 2008, 299 pp, €28. ISBN 978-2-13-056992-3.
This book pays tribute to the scientific career of Pierre du Bois, an eminent figure at the 'Institut de Hautes Etudes Internationale et du Développement' in Geneva who died last year. In the first section on the origins of the European Union, Alfonso Mattera looks at nearly twenty-five centuries of history to discern the values of our Europeanism. Other articles look at mercantile Europe at the time of the Renaissance, the precursor role played by the Count of Saint Simon, and Lubor Jilek looks at the idea of Europe in the thinking of the former Austrian parliamentarian who went on become the president of Czechoslovakia, Masaryk. The second part of the book looks at several founding figures in Europe, from the Swiss philosopher Denis de Rougemont to French diplomat Jean-Marie Soutou via General Charles de Gaulle (Benedikt Schoenborn shows that there were nuances in his hostility to supranationalism). The third part of the book covers institutional aspects of the European project. Marie-Thérèse Bitsch analyses fifty years of European integration and asks whether federalisation is possible. Two other articles look at monetary integration and the relationship between the European Union and the OSCE. The final section discusses the EU in the world from the angle of its relations with Switzerland, with the other side of the Pond and with Central Asia. The book sheds light on the enlarged EU with a dossier on Romania and differences between the 'two Europes'.
(MT)
*** STEFAN GRILLER (Ed.): Die europäische Wirtschaftsverfassung. De lege lata et ferenda. Springer (P.O. Box 89, 4-6 Sachsenplatz, 1201-Vienna, Austria. Fax: (43-1) 3302426 - email: books@springer.at - Internet: http://www.springer.at ). “Europainstitut Wirtschaftsuniversität Wien Schriftenreihe“ series, No. 28. 2007, 283 pp. ISBN 978-3-211-73602-9.
This book publishes the proceedings of a conference of the sixth Austrian EU law training course, held in Vienna on 29 and 30 September 2006. The articles and commentaries by academics and practitioners are divided into two sections. The first looks at the important impact of the Austrian Presidency of the Council of the European Union in 2006 and the second studies the liberalisation of services in the Common Market, along with key issues like social Europe, development Europe and competition law. Edited by Prof. Stefan Griller, president of the European Affairs Institute at Vienna University, this study also links up Austrian constitutional law with European law, shedding light on the difficulties encountered.
(EPi)
*** STEFAN GRILLER, MICHAEL HOLOUBEK: Europäisches und öffentliches Wirtschaftrecht I. 4., neu bearbeitete Auflage. Springer (see above). 2006, 429 pp, €34.90. ISBN-10: 3-211-36705-5.
This book studies European and Austrian business law, with the aim of making the subject accessible to students. Edited by two professors at Vienna University, the book focusses on a case study and brief business examples in each chapter. It covers a range of topics like building law, administrative procedures and national legal protection, the European Common Market and EU competition law. This fourth edition is a complete overhaul of the third edition, expanding the range of themes covered to include the development of legislation, changes in case law and new literature on the subject.
(EP)
*** STEFAN GRILLER, MICHAEL HOLOUBEK: Europäisches und öffentliches Wirtschaftrecht II. 3., neu bearbeitete Auflage. Springer (see above). 2006, 427 pp, €34-90. ISBN 3-211-36703-9.
Joint editors of this book, Prof. Stefan Griller of Vienna University's European Institute, and Michael Holoubek of Vienna University's European and Austrian Public Law Institute, have collected a series of essays from members and associates of the two institutes in the field of European and Austrian public business law. In this third, updated edition, they develop various disciplines of public business law - waste law, the law of the European Economic Union, European Monetary Union and its repercussions on national budget legislation, international law, environmental law, national and European legal protection systems, etc. Simple and user-friendly for students, the book will help readers expand their understanding of European public business law.
(EPi)
*** FABIAN BÖHM: Strukturen internationalen Subventionsrechts. EG Beihilfenrecht und WTO Subventionsrecht aus rechtsvergleichender Perspektive. Peter Lang (see above). "Studien zum internationalen, europäischen and öffentlichen Recht" series. 2007, 316 pp. ISBN 978-3-631-55754-9.
This book looks at aid and subsidy legislation in EU law and World Trade Organisation rules. The author draws up an inventory of international legislation on subsidies, comparing EU and WTO law. The main aspect of the comparison is the idea of subsidies arising from competition law. Behind the protectionist motivations of each country, there can be hidden trade barriers to compensate for losses due to competition on the market, in the form of subsidies, for example. The first section of book studies various parameters of comparative law from the angle of the function and development of the international legal framework in this area. There is a comparison of the specific natures of the two legal systems in the second part of the book. The final chapter looks at the connections between EU and WTO law.
(EPi)