*** Construction européenne: crises et relances. Economica (49 rue Héricart, F-75015 Paris) and Fondation Jean Monnet pour l'Europe (Ferme de Dorigny, CH-1015 Lausanne. Tel: (41-21) 6922090 - Fax: 6922095 - email: secr@fjmo.unil.ch - Internet: http://www.jean-monnet.ch ). "Fondation Jean Monnet pour l'Europe" series. 2009, 282 pp, €29. ISBN 978-2-7178-5620-0.
This is the two hundred and tenth Cahier Rouge notebook published by the Jean Monnet Foundation for Europe and is dedicated to Bronislaw Geremek, who was the foundation's president when he was killed in a road accident in July 2008. Who better than Geremek, a humanist historian, to make the keynote address at a conference three months beforehand organised by the foundation on the theme of the highs and lows in the European construction process (the proceedings of which are published in this book)? He was surely the best person for the task, as shown by the following passage from his opening speech at the conference, where he called for people to focus on hopes rather than fears. "There are tensions that are natural tensions: tensions between future aspirations and the weight of the past, between national interests and European interests, between small countries and large countries, and I now add to this list tensions between new and old European Union countries. But all the same, to the idea of Europe as an open society, to the idea of Europe that some accuse of existing under the sign of Venus, I believe we can respond to this with pride that this means that Europe is the work of peace, and we can even be proud of our search for soft power. It is on this soft power that democracy, respect for human rights and the rule of law that the whole European project has been built." A veritable cri de cœur which should echo constantly in every school and university in all twenty-seven Member States!
That said, as with many human enterprises, it is certainly true that the course of the European project has not been smooth but has been characterised by one crisis after another since its inception. As Jacques Santer pointed out at the conference, the European project was after all generated by the worst crisis of all, the Second World War. Hence the clear utility of this multidisciplinary conference - and its proceedings published in this book - where specialists explain the historic dynamic of crises and recoveries, along with the positions of the various stakeholders, be they EU institutions, governments, politicians, business figures or social activists, along with stakeholders from outside Europe, public opinion and the media. High-ranking scientific essays by figureheads like historians Prof. Marie-Thérèse Bitsch and Prof. Gérard Bossuat, political scientists Dominique Reynié and Sandra Lavenex, lawyers Vlad Constantinesco and Jörg Gerkrath, and economist Gianni Toniolo are an Ariadne's thread running through this collection of reflections on the past in order to get a better grip on the present, with prestigious activists and commentaries like Enrique Barón Crespo MEP, Jacques Santer, Etienne Davignon, Belgium's erstwhile Permanent Representative Philippe de Schoutheete, the founder of Eurobarometer Jacques-René Rabier, and journalist and columnist Ferdinando Riccardi so familiar to readers of Agence Europe, providing explanations and key lessons in the light of their vast experience.
Clearly a book of this nature is far too varied to be summarised in a comprehensive fashion. To whet readers' appetites, the reviewer will run the risk of making an arbitrary selection of two essays. The first is by Prof. Dominique Reynié, who discerns the affirmation of European public opinion, which has been visible since the recent mass demonstrations at the start of the war on Iraq, a war which rattled European unity at government level but which was, for their subjects, a European movement par excellence, with the experience of differing in opinion from the United States over the war constituting a European identity. The perusal of Eurobarometer polls argues the cause for the word 'European' being brought into life in the light of weakened nations, with the European Union appearing in the eyes of many ordinary people as a kind of trade union of countries in the old continent, a syndicate that is capable of helping the countries survive the challenges of globalisation. Prof. Reynié adds to this that the public unity crises that Europe is supposed to suffer from are not so much crises of the European Union, as crises of those in power nationally who are struggling in the wake of a 'European' no vote in a referendum. For these national leaders, it would be better in all respects for the referendum result to be interpreted as the people rejecting the European Union (rather than rejecting the national government). This analysis leads directly to an essay by Francis Cheneval on the democratic crisis that arose following the recent French, Dutch and Irish no votes. Cheneval, a philosopher and political scientist who lectures at Oxford University, makes a very convincing argument that in its present form, ratification of the European treaties is "discriminatory," partly because European citizens are not all equal when it comes to the right of expressing their opinions directly, and also because the threat of holding a referendum is, as former Belgian Permanent Representative Philippe de Schoutheete confirms, a trump card that countries can keep up their sleeve to influence their partners during Intergovernmental Conferences. After querying whether this discrimination violates the fundamental principles of European Union citizenship, he answers that yes, it does tend to. The author demolishes the current practice of using national referendums to ratify treaties because, among other reasons, many countries organise referendums as a screen for all sorts of frustrations, not to mention the fact that the broad scope of the treaties means they can be taken hostage by all manner of vetoes which, at the end of the day, lead to a rejection of the treaty for reasons which are impossible to discern with any precision. Based on this evidence, Cheneval (who is Swiss) puts forward a ratification procedure in the form of an identical referendum held simultaneously in all Member States, an idea which has been given the cold shoulder by some parties. Nevertheless, while awaiting the second Irish referendum upon which hangs the fate of the entire European Union, reflecting on how to avoid the EU being taken hostage again in the future is probably not so very iconoclastic…
Michel Theys
*** GIGI GRAZIANO: Institutional Balance in the EU. The Prodi Administration as a Reforming Commission. Institut Universitari d'Estudis Europeus (Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, Edifici E-1, 08193 Bellaterra, Barcelona. Tel: (34-93) 5812016 - Fax: 5813063 - Internet: http://www.iuee.eu ). "Quaderns de treball" series, No. 49. 2008, 45 pp. ISBN 978-84-95201-21-8.
In this brochure, Gigi Graziano looks at the Prodi Commission, examining it in terms of institutional balance within the European Union. The author starts by looking at the origin of the problems faced by the Prodi Commission at the outset, making a connection with the fact that from the institutional viewpoint, the EU does not have the same legitimacy and is not as robust when it comes to pressure from the Member States as, for example, the United States' federal state, making the Commission a relatively weak body. The challenges and problems faced by the Prodi Commission called for changes and adjustments, which were duly brought in with the reform of the EU civil service, seen by some as one of the great successes of the Prodi administration. The author also examines the EU governance guidelines and the Commission's contribution to the Intergovernmental Conference that led to the Nice Treaty. In his concluding remarks, Gigi Graziano hints that it would have be difficult for the Prodi Commission to have done better, given the situation at the time.
(NDu)
*** CHRISTOPHE LESCOT: Questions européennes. Ellipses Edition Marketing (32 rue Bargue, F-75740 Paris cedex 15. Tel: (33-1) 45677419 - Fax: 47346794 - Internet: http://www.editions-ellipses.fr ). "Actu' concours" series. 2009, 463 pp. ISBN 978-2-7298-4273-4.
Senior lecturer in European affairs at the 'Institut d'Etudes Politiques' in Paris and advisor to the French national assembly, Christophe Lescot had done useful work in writing this book of twenty-six factsheets clearly explaining the EU system (history, institutions, decision-making process, legal system and powers), along with the Common Market, economic and financial issues (competition policy, the EU budget, Economic and Monetary Union and economic policy coordination), EU policies and activities, from Green Europe to the area of freedom, security and justice, and the EU's foreign policy. Each topic is discussed by means of a thoroughly reliable summary of the theory, going on to consider recent developments and discern their significance and scope. In the same spirit, the author looks at future prospects and each factsheet refers to recent books and articles where readers can gain more in-depth knowledge about the issue in question. This is an extremely useful practical guidebook which, faithful to the spirit of this series, will be invaluable to students and anyone else at the start of their careers, although Everyman will also find the explanations highly useful.
(PBo)
*** DELPHINE BOURGEOIS: 100 questions sur l'Europe. Petit guide pratique à l'usage de tous. Tournesol Conseils/Editions Luc Pire (37/39 quai aux Pierres de Taille, B-1000 Brussels. Tel: (32-2) 2108950 - Fax: 2108959 - Internet: http://www.lucpire.eu ). "100 questions sur…" series. 2009, 157 pp, €18. ISBN 978-2-507-00187-2.
With an enthusiastic preface by EU Commissioner Louis Michel, Vice-President of the European Commission Margot Wallström and President of the European Parliament Hans-Gert Pöttering, this slim, lively volume contains the basics (some would say the bare essentials) in the form of questions and answers about the European Union and its history, institutions and policies. With amusing illustrations by Belgian caricaturist Kroll, this practical and informative manual is a must-read for any young person who will be voting for the first time at the European elections this year, and also a must-read for the swathes of European citizens for whom the European project is still, unfortunately, a mystery…
(MT)
*** CARSTEN WITZKE: Zur Erforderlichkeit einer effektiven Interessenvertretung der Bundesrepublik Deutschland auf europäischer Ebene. Die Reformbedürftigkeit der Regelungen zur Mitwirkung von Bund und Ländern in Angelegenheiten der Europäischen Union. Peter Lang (1 Moostrasse, CH-2542 Pieterlen, Switzerland. Tel: (41-32) 3761717 - Fax: 3471727 - email: info@peterlang.com - Internet: http://www.peterlang.com ). "Europäische Hochschulschriften" series, No. 4723. 2008, 150 pp, €31-80. ISBN 978-3-631-57247-4.
This book examines the possibility of changes being made to ensure effective representation of German interests within the European Union. From the starting point that more effective representation is required, the author explains the current legal situation governing state action and measures by the Länder (German regions) within the EU institutions. Looking at the legislative procedure within the EU, Carsten Witzke explains the room to manoeuvre of federal ministers and the Chancellor. She focuses on interfederal consultation mechanisms, the role of the Bundesrat, and Germany's Permanent Representation to the EU. The role of the Länder is then explained in greater detail. Recommendations on how to improve representation of German interests at the EU are scattered throughout the book.
(EPi)
*** LORENA ELVIRA AYUSO: La Participación Directa de las Comunidades Autónomas en el Consejo de la Unión Europea. Atençión especial a Cataluña. Institut Universitari d'Estudis Europeus (see above). "Quaderns de treball" series, No. 50. 2008, 46 pp. ISBN 978-84-95201-22-1.
The fiftieth issue in the "Quaderns de treball" series examines the relationship between the Council of the EU and autonomous regions, paying particular attention to Catalonia in Spain. The 2004 agreements reached at a conference on issues relating to the European Communities set out guidelines on the direct involvement of Spanish autonomous communities in the Council's work, through the Spanish delegation. These agreements also increased the role of the Council of Autonomous Affairs at the Spanish Permanent Representation to the European Union. This book examines in detail the agreements at three different levels - supranational first of all, examining the work of the Council and the involvement of Member States; followed by national level, examining Madrid's attitude; and finally regional level, paying particular attention to direct involvement by the autonomous community of Catalonia in the work of the EU Council of Ministers.
(NDu)
*** Fedechoses… pour le fédéralisme, depuis 1973. Presse fédéraliste (Maison de l'Europe, 18 av. Félix Faure, F-69007 Lyons. Internet: http://www.pressefederaliste.eu ). 2008, No. 142, 28 pp, €3. Annual subscription: €15.
The presentation and tone of several articles in this federalist publication is rather anarchistic in style, like the "Charlie Hebdo" magazine in France, making it lively and occasionally even amusing in a corrosive way. The editorial vilifies the European "machine" (referring to a term used by General de Gaulle of the United Nations in the past) chaired in the second half of 2008 by Nicholas Sarkozy; and also slams the Council of the European Union, "ruined by intergovernmental logic and emasculated by 27 veto rights". The pamphleteer adds that the idea that is the only guarantee of the irreversible nature of the European project, namely getting the European Union to move in the direction of federal political unity by simply hoping that from time to time a hornet in the intergovernmental jar will buzz into action is a pipe dream. In a more measured manner, veteran journalist Jean-Pierre Gouzy, who was already writing at the time of The Hague Congress in 1948, is no less critical in an article on the Sarkozy presidency. The rest of the issue includes articles on Henri Frenay and federalism in the Resistance, on the "Ventotene Manifesto" of Spinelli and Rossi, and a plea for a new Bretton Woods.
(MT)