*** MARIA JOÃO RODRIGUES (Ed.): Europe, Globalization and the Lisbon Agenda. Edward Elgar Publishing (The Lypiatts, 15 Lansdown Road, Cheltenham, Glos, GL50 2JA, UK. Tel: (44-1242) 226934 - Fax: 262111 - email: info@e-elgar.co.uk - Internet: http://www.e-elgar.com ). 2009, 404 pp. ISBN 978-1-84844-199-6.
As far as the vast majority of Europeans are concerned, the Lisbon Strategy means nothing, or at least tends to be generally misunderstood in terms of its practical developments. This persistent lack of ownership of the supposedly collective Lisbon ambition is one of the biggest failures chalked up by the people who designed the Agenda, along with those who shaped it politically. The Lisbon Strategy and the Lisbon Agenda arising from it are supposed to determine the role the European Union will play in tomorrow's globalised world. As the mother of the strategy, Maria Joao Rodrigues, points out in the preface, what is at stake is not only ensuring that the priority for Europe is turning into a knowledge-based economy (many other areas of the world have given themselves the same task, so essential in these times of a global economy), but also to combine this quest with attempts to ensure "balanced and sustainable development that meshes with European values". This is where the best contribution the European Union could make to the world is to be found and this is also its main challenge because it implies "profound changes in European economies and society".
This colossal challenge also implies permanent interaction among politicians and academic experts, as this book demonstrates in a dazzling manner. Edited by the woman who gave rise to the Lisbon Strategy when she was Portuguese employment minister, and who has been closely monitoring the Strategy from the start as advisor to the European Commission and then as professor at the European Studies Institute of the 'Université Libre de Bruxelles' and the Lisbon University Institute, the book contains essays by scientists who have been examining and streamlining the Lisbon Strategy from the start, members of the "Lisbon Agenda Group". They took part in four workshops in Brussels and Lisbon on the issue and it is the proceedings of these high-ranking workshops that are published in this book. It starts with a reminder of the history of the emergence of the Lisbon Agenda and the changes it has undergone, particularly its mid-term review in 2005 and changes to reflect the priorities decided upon for 2008 to 2010. Needless to say, it was Maria Joao Rodrigues who wrote this article, along with the concluding essay where she sets out possible future developments for the Lisbon Agenda.
The book is divided into four parts. The authors start by considering the development of the Lisbon Agenda at EU level, going on to examine the Lisbon Agenda in the light of differences between the Member States. They examine the wider dimension and look finally at the implications in terms of EU governance. The Lisbon Agenda is examined from the macroeconomic, social, institutional, civil service and other viewpoints and there is an essay on the various types of capitalism in existence in the new Member States. Each section of the book is arranged in the same way, which makes the book very user-friendly. Each section starts with a distinctly political introduction by Maria Joao Rodrigues, which is then commented upon by renowned scientists. The editor sums up each topic. This is an extremely enlightening and instructive book, but its academic nature means that it will not necessarily suit the general public…
Pierre Bouvier
*** LAURENT COHEN-TANUGI: Beyond Lisbon. A European Strategy for Globalisation. Presses Interuniversitaires Européennes / Peter Lang (1 av. Maurice, B-1050 Brussels. Tel: (41-32) 3761717 - Fax: 3761727 - email: info@peterlang.com - Internet: http://www.peterlang.com ). 2008, 320 pp, €31-90. ISBN 978-90-5201-461-6.
This book usefully complements the preceding tome, condensing the outcome of the mission conferred upon the author by the French government (in the form of the current economy minister Christine Lagarde, and the former labour minister, Xavier Bertrand, who both wrote the preface to the book) in advance of the recent French Presidency of the Council of the EU to assess the Lisbon Strategy and the new challenges and opportunities that will determine the role that the European Union could claim in the global economy. After six months of work and consultations in France, Germany, Italy, the Czech Republic, the United Kingdom, Slovenia, Sweden and even Israel (a "leading country in the knowledge-based economy that is involved in most of the EU's research projects"), this document demonstrates that the Lisbon Strategy that was re-booted in 2005 is broadly unsatisfactory because, leaving aside its conceptual and practical weaknesses, it aims to adapt the EU economy and society to globalisation without trying to provide the EU with ways of influencing globalisation. Convinced that the key challenge facing the EU and European unification today is the way it can create European value-added in a globalised world (the author describes this as the key to the continent's 'renaissance' no less), the author delivers a coherent strategic vision of how to achieve this. Some of his ideas can be found online at http://www.euroworld2015.eu (English) or http://www.euromonde2015.eu (French).
(PBo)
*** MICHAEL A. PETERS, SIMON MARGISON, PETER MURPHY (Eds.): Creativity and the Global Knowledge Economy. Peter Lang (see above). 2008, 289 pp, €21-90. ISBN 978-1-4331-0426-8.
Although the Lisbon Objectives will be rather difficult to achieve, the idea of a knowledge-based economy seems to be established and has been decided upon as the road to follow in the future. In a market system where innovation acts as an engine, bringing successive waves of improvements to all levels of society in its wake, the knowledge-based society was (and still is) seen by many as a new Eldorado and the obvious solution to the crisis that is continuing to bite deep around the world. That said, when one observes the history of change in the economy, like the shift from the industrial era to the information age or, more recently, the digital age, it is difficult not to notice that in the West, consumer goods are taking on an ever more intangible nature. The service sector could still provide examples of material products, but the new technology industry is characterised by their absence. Intellectual capacities are important here because digital information is non-spatial and infinitely reproducible, and there are no transport costs. The new digital economy is fundamentally changing things because unlike in the past, the means of production are no longer automatically dependent on industrialists' physical capital, but instead on intellectual and creative capital. Only a laptop is needed these days to open an online shop. Moreover, the speed of innovation means that economic stakeholders are in a constant state of flux and adjustment, which increases the importance of knowledge still further as a means of production, compared with physical capital or natural resources.
Aware of these changes, the authors of this book take a look in three volumes (this is the first of the series) at changes in the traditional capitalist system of production due to contact with the new economy. Three academic experts in art, education and sociology define what the knowledge-based economy is and, more importantly, how far the changes we are experiencing will go and what new rules will govern it. In nine chapters, the researchers start by highlighting the prime importance of education in such a system, demonstrating how creativity and intellectual freedom are competitive advantages. They identify a new form of organisation of labour where the means of production are provided for the community (the arrival of Wikipedia and Linux are good examples of this) and this leads on to a new 'economic democracy' where anyone can play a leading role. The book also looks at concepts like intellectual property, the problems with mass production of culture, and the new entrepreneurial practices that are fashionable in this sector. The book will be of particular benefit to anyone interested in new technology and any reader curious about what the future might hold - the not-so-distant future when one takes a closer look.
(NDu)
*** MICHAEL GOLD, ANDREAS NIKOPOULOS, NORBERT KLUGE (Eds.): The European Company Statute. A New Approach to Corporate Governance. Peter Lang (32 Hochfeldstrasse, Postfach 746, CH-3000 Bern 9, Switzerland. Tel: (41-32) 3761717 - Fax: 3761727 - email: info@peterlang.com - Internet: http://www.peterlang.com ). 2009, 373 pp, €57-30. ISBN 978-3-03911-560-0.
The creation of companies that operate in several EU Member States is now commonplace. Although the creation of such companies has been profitable to the companies concerned and to their shareholders, it has caused a number of problems due to the range of different legislation in force in the Member States. Security of employment can be weakened because such companies take advantage of the legal vacuum at EU level. This legal vacuum is unintentional because the EU has been trying for thirty years to introduce a directive covering companies doing business in more than one Member State at the same time. Drafted in 2001, the directive on the 'European company statute' has now come into force. Is it a panacea? In actual fact, it mainly covers the internal functioning of companies, like the composition of their management boards, but the nub of the issue is connected, as it happens, with worker representation on the board. There are two ways of setting up a company management board in the EU. One includes members of staff, who are given the possibility of influencing company decisions (and therefore work conditions, health and safety and the like); while the other excludes member of staff from the board. The second method is by far the more widespread in Europe. The type of system in place depends on the country and the enterprise culture in question. What happens if a company which does not include worker representatives on its board gets set up in a Member State where the first system prevails? In such cases, workers and the board will have to negotiate the type of structure to be set up. The European company statute directive will be used in this process, through its provision of flexible, made-to-measure solutions for the company in question. The authors of this book are academic experts in economics and management. They analyse the directive, along with its history, culture, structure and changes over the thirty years of gestation. The authors argue that the directive clearly provides not only an opportunity to ensure convergence of business models in the European economic area, but also provides staff with the opportunity to get involved in their company's decision-making. There are case studies of Greece, Slovenia and the United Kingdom that also look at other legal areas like taxation and companies in countries where worker involvement on management boards does not exist.
(NDu)
*** JOHN CARTWRIGHT, MARTIJN HESSELIN: Precontractual Liability in European Private Law. Cambridge University Press (The Edinburgh building, Cambridge CB2 8RU, UK. Tel: (44-1223) 326050 - Fax: 326111 - email: directcustser@cambroidge.org - Internet: http://www.cambridge.org ). "The Common Core of European Private Law" series, No. 9. 2008, 509 pp. ISBN 978-0-521-51601-3.
This book provides one more piece in the EU jigsaw puzzle. The series aims to create a legal map of Europe. The European Union is constantly trying to harmonise liability but there are very few studies of the consequences, successes and failures of this. This series takes stock of the convergence process in the European Union and looks at new ways of boosting coherence. This volume includes essays by academic economics experts and looks at the legal nature of liability in the pre-contractual phase between two companies. The pre-contractual phase is unusual in that although they have been negotiating together, the two sides to the negotiations are not yet part of any tangible or legally binding contract. In the best case scenario, they will reach agreement and sign a contact, but what happens if the talks break down at some point? The companies involved will usually have invested time, money and effort in the process and hence any breakdown in the talks that is not thought to be justified will be seen as deceitful. The party that believes itself to be the injured party will seek compensation. Thirteen case studies, gleaned from across Europe, look at the issue in depth, examining the prevailing legislation in sixteen EU legal systems in order to identify legal systems sensitive to this type of issue - like, for example, the legal system in the Netherlands - and legal systems where such situations are barely mentioned - like the United Kingdom. The authors examine the legal vacuum and other areas of legal incompatibility that have been observed in order that they can be rectified in the future as part of the convergence process. A mine of information, aimed mainly at academic experts but which will be of interest to any individuals needing to find their way around the EU legal system.
(Ndu)