*** FRANCESC GRANELL: La coopération au développement de la Communauté européenne. Editions de l'Université de Bruxelles (26 rue Paul Héger, B-1000 Brussels. Tel: (32-2) 6503799 - Fax: 6503794 - E-mail: editions@admin.ulb.ac.be - Internet: http: //http://www.editions-universite-bruxelles.be/ ). "Commentaire J. Mégret - Le droit de la CE et de l'Union européenne" series. 2005, 475 pp, €65. ISBN 2-8004-1354-9.
"Each of us individually has very little way of improving living conditions for people in the Southern hemisphere, but collective responsibility should help cut the gap between North and South. I believe that all of us can become development activists and I hope this book by Professor Granell will help"… One often suspects prefaces of singing undeserved praise, but this does not apply here. Honorary Director General at the Council of the European Union and member of the International Law Institute, Daniel Vignes explains in two sentences at the end of the preface the crucial importance of development aid for all of mankind and the utility of this book in raising awareness of the European Community's work in this field. The book replaces two issues of the 'Commentaire J. Megret' series, one published in 1986 (L'aide au développement) and another in 1990 (La Convention de Lomé). So many changes have occurred since then (the Maastricht Treaty introduced a new EU policy, the development cooperation policy, establishing ECHO, the EU's humanitarian aid body, the EuropAid cooperation office, the World Trade Organisation, and the United Nations proclamation on the Millennium Development Targets, etc) that the editors decided to ask a development expert to start from scratch and write a new book. Their inspired choice fell upon Prof. Granell, who holds the International Economic Organisation Chair at Barcelona University and recently left his post as honorary Director General at the Commission. He has also worked for UN aid bodies. An inspired choice because the book is not simply the fruit of perusal of international and EU documentation on aid, but also years of experience and the author's personal notes and the outcome of several hundred meetings, conferences and missions where he represented the European Community in Brussels and also in aid beneficiary countries and at the headquarters of international development organisations.
Initially, Francesc Granell sets the EU against the backdrop of globalisation and increasing problems in developing countries. He describes globalisation producing obvious benefits, but these benefits remain concentrated in a small number of countries where they are unevenly distributed - it is good to read such obvious statements written by an expert! He points out, with statistical proof to boot, that the EU and its Member States together are the developing world's biggest partner, providing 55% of international public development aid and developing countries' main trading partner and leading foreign investor in developing countries. On this he writes: "In this sense, the European Union and its Member States' concern about poverty in the world is not only a question of 'macromagnitude' but also an imperative resulting from European ideas about the need to establish globalisation with a human face and the need to globalise the European values of democracy, social justice and sustainable development. As far as the EU is concerned, it is unacceptable politically, socially and ethically for more than a billion people on our planet to have to survive on less than one euro a day". This doesn't prevent him observing that 'rich countries have never been so parsimonious towards poor countries', with donors' lack of interest explained by a series of good and bad reasoning.
Having set the backdrop, the author pits the EU's development cooperation policy against the broader context of the EU's foreign policy, outlining stages in its development, characterised by an increase in the number of beneficiaries and qualitative transformations. Always very precise, Francesc Granell goes on to describe the various EU development instruments and stakeholders, then looking at the parts of the world where EU aid is granted, measuring the extent to which development cooperation policy has been diversified by becoming universal. The author looks at priority areas where the Community has decided to intervene, and then looks at future challenges to be addressed by EU development policy - because of the last round of enlargement of the EU - describing the broad axes of reform of the policy unveiled by the Commission. Essential reading for a wide range of readers - given the specific nature of the subject under discussion, it is less theoretical and juridical than other books in the series.
Michel Theys
*** JEAN-PLACIDE KEZA: Valeurs culturelles et échec de l'aide au développement. L'Harmattan (5-7 rue de l'Ecole-Polytechnique, F-75005 Paris. Tel: (33-1) 40467920 - Fax: 43258203 E-mail: diffusion.harmattan@wanadoo.fr - Internet: http://www.editions-harmattan.fr ). "Emploi, Industrie et Territoire" series. 2005, 303 pp, €25-50. ISBN 2-7475-7939-5.
Economist and researcher at the Applied Economics Faculty of 'Université Paul Cézanne d'Aix-Marseille III' in France, Jean-Placide Keza does not mince his words: "Slump in raw material prices, drowning in debt, corruption, siphoning off funds, and aid invested in white elephants, impoverished peasants forced to leave their land, losing one's culture, Structural Adjustment Policies causing unemployment and starvation riots, not to mention civil war, this is the picture Africa presents to the world after more than half a century of development aid policies", he thunders at the start of the introduction. The abject failure of these aid policies is clear to see. "After four or five decades of obvious waste and patent ineffectiveness", explains Roland Granier in the preface, honorary dean of the same faculty, we "are logically tempted to say that it is fortunate" that development aid "was not granted any more generously". Following this unchallengeable observation, the author does some courageous and relevant work. Courageous because using a rigorous scientific approach, he has no qualms about challenging the ideals that tend to be cited to justify aid, verifying and unmasking in both donor and beneficiary countries what lies behind these ideals, the thinly but carefully veiled interests, siphoning off of funds and dishonest compromises. Relevant because he carries this out based on a framework where the role of culture predominates, shedding new light (to quote Prof. Granier) on the cultural gulf between sub-Saharan Africa and the developed Western world, and the ineptitude of public aid from the outset. At pains to rely solely on economic criteria, but also using elements of ontology, psychology, philosophy, sociology and anthropology, Jean-Placide Keza chooses an approach in his demonstration of the influence of idea structures in the failure of development aid whereby he makes a dichotomological analysis of cultural values influencing the behaviour of both donors and beneficiaries, including economic behaviour. In the first part of the book, the author looks at 'endogenous causes' of the failure of aid, demonstrating how development first depends on Africans' capacity to change their lives. The second part looks at the 'exogenous causes' of the failure of aid, and the real motivation behind Western development aid (the European Union comes in for its share of criticism). Jean-Placide Keza argues that beneficiaries receive aid that rarely meets their development needs, a factor leading to the aid failing to deliver and the country stagnating in underdevelopment.
(MT)
*** EMIL COCK: Le dispositif humanitaire. Géopolitique de la générosité. L'Harmattan (see above). 2005, 176 pp, €16. ISBN 2-7475-8422-4.
Charities intervening in tragedies and wars to help desperate people are only the final, visible, chain in a complex mechanism. Formerly a field doctor for 'Médecins sans frontières' and 'Médecins du monde', the author sheds light on the connections between the humanitarian world and politics, economics and military affairs, to reveal what really underlies Western generosity, identifying its origins, workings and role in today's geopolitical set-up. He reveals the huge role played by the Organisation for Economic
Cooperation and Development, leaving readers with the suspicion that humanitarian aid is being used for geopolitical purposes. In this connection, Emil Cock also looks at the European Commission's humanitarian office ECHO, arguing that its main role is to stem potential floods of refugees. The author also casts a critical eye over the role of countries, the United Nations High Commission for Refugees, the International Red Cross Committee, NGOs and the media.
(PBo)
*** GREGOR STANGHERLIN: Les acteurs des ONG. L'engagement pour l'autre lointain. L'Harmattan (see above). "Logiques Politiques" series. 2005, 246 pp, €22-50. ISBN 2-7475-8480-1.
Why to people do voluntary and other work for development cooperation non-governmental organisations and charities? Why are there such huge differences in intensity and length of time devoted to such work? A sociologist responsible for research at Liege University in Belgium, Gregor Stangherlin has developed a theoretical model that he applies to Belgium to assess such work in a multi-dimensional way (analysing the influence and interaction of institutional, organisation and biographical elements), looking at the processes involved in the various phases of an individual's work for charity - deciding to take part, actually committing oneself and deciding to leave. In this way, he shows how biographical, organisational and institutional factors play a role in each phase and how these three factors can help us understand the emergence and development of deciding to work to improve the lot of people in far away climes.
(PBo)
*** Agri.Med. Agriculture, pêche, alimentation et développement rural durable dans la région méditerranéenne - Agriculture, fishery, food and sustainable rural development in the Mediterranean region. Centre International de Hautes Etudes Agronomiques Méditerranéennes (11 rue Newton, F-75116 Paris. Tel: (33-1) 53239100 - Fax: 53239101 - e-mail: lrobert@ciheam.org - Internet: http: //http://www.ciheam.org ). 2005, 325 pp. ISBN 2-85352-306-3 (French) and 2-85352-309-8 (English).
The seventh CIHEAM annual report is divided into four parts. The first looks at the design and implementation of rural development policies in countries around the Mediterranean, with academics considering the sustainability of new modes of development and the tricky matter of how to strike a balance between rural areas inland and rural areas along the coast, in other words how to draw up new forms of governance. The second part looks at the situation facing farmers, the agri-food industry and fishing, with changes in public, farm and agri-food policy also being outlined. The revolution in diet and its impact in terms of the food security of people living around the Mediterranean are then discussed, while the final part of the book publishes a series of annual indicators of food and farm development.
(PBo)
*** ANTOINE GLASER, STEPHEN SMITH: Comment la France a perdu l'Afrique. Calmann-Lévy (Paris - Internet: http://www.calman-levy.fr ). 2005, 278 pp, €18. ISBN 2-7021-3596-X.
November 2004. The French army opens fire on a crown of 'patriots' in Abidjan (capital of former French colony, the Ivory Coast). Two Africa experts (Stephen Smith has been writing on Africa for French newspapers "Libération" and "Le Monde" for twenty-five years, Antoine Glaser is the editor of an African newsletter) describe that crisis in Côte d'Ivoire as being, for France's presence in Africa, like the Fall of the Bastille for the 'Ancien Régime' in the French Revolution - the beginning of the end. In this extremely well documented book ('How France Lost Africa'), the two authors highlight a series of errors, cowardice and ambiguity, from the Rwandan genocide via the Elf scandal to the shady dealings of "Françafrique", that characterise French policy on Africa.
(LD)
*** ZACHARIE MYBOTO: J'assume. Editions Publisud (15 rue des Cinq-Diamants, F-75013 Paris. Tel: (33-1) 45807850 - Fax: 45899415 - E-mail: edipublisud@wanadoo.fr - Internet: http://www.publisud.fr ). 2005, 183 pp. ISBN 2-86600-993-2.
A minister on several occasions between 1978 and 2001, Zacharie Myboto explains in this book why he resigned his ministerial post after a slander campaign held him responsible for holding up the building of the road network in Gabon. This book aims to set the record straight.
(PBo)
*** The EUROPEAN COMMISSION (Official Publications Office of the European Communities, L-2985 Luxembourg. Internet: http: //publications.eu.int) has published the following document:
*** Innovation européenne. Information and Communications Unit, DG Enterprise and Industry (BREY 05/216, B-1049 Brussels. Fax: (32-2) 2921788 - E-mail: entr-itt@cec.eu.int - Internet: http: //aoi.cordis.lu/). September 2005, 32 pp.
The first dossier in this magazine, formerly known as "Innovation & Transfert technologique", looks at the use of space technology to increase security by cutting the risk of terrorism and natural disasters, for example. Europe currently spends twenty times less on space research than the US, but simply doubling investment in Europe would be enough to fill the gap, says General Molard, defence and security advisor to EADS Space. The dossier describes the general situation and briefly describes project like Galileo and Astro+, a programme to help manage crises abroad. A second dossier looks at e-business and how IT and communication technology will really impact on trade, with statistics to boot. The magazine's other articles look at research funding. There is a pull-out on innovative regions of Europe.
*** Carrefour de l'économie. SPF Economie, PME, Classes moyennes & Energie (City Atrium Bloc C 7ème étage, 50 rue du Progrès, B-1210 Brussels. Fax: (32-2) 2775507 - E-mail: carrefour@mineco.fgov.be). 2005, Nos. 7-8-9 A & B, 16 & 16 pp.
This issue of magazine of the 'Service public fédéral belge de l'économie' opens with the initial results of EU-SILC 2003 (European Union Statistics on Income and Living Conditions), for which Belgium served as a kind of test case. The survey will later be used to compare purchase power and living conditions in Europe. The first results, outlined in this magazine, cover Belgians' income. Average income is €1,422-81 a month, the poverty threshold is €772-52. The magazine also looks at the most vulnerable categories of people, and draws up a list of the richest and poorest communities. The magazine analyses the Belgian economy and its future prospects and provides details of the extra time period allowed for modernising lifts. Section B gives macroeconomic information about Belgium.
*** Migration. International Organization for Migration (PO box 71, CH-1211 Geneva. Tel: (41-22) 7179111 - Fax: 7986150 - E-mail: info@iom.int - Internet: http: //http://www.iom.int ). September 2005, 24 pp.
UN body IOM (International Organisation for Migration), working for ordered and humane migration to the benefit of migrants and society alike, has published this magazine to increase understanding of migration in our times. The reader accompanies 5000 displaced Sudanese people on an epic return journey across 350 km of jungle and marshland in Sudan. There is an article on internal migration, less well-known than cross-border migration, but massive. India alone reckons some 232 million people have migrated within its borders, with the world total standing at around 175 million in 2000. Other articles look at Yemeni street children in Saudi Arabia, getting children back to school and re-stabilising violent neighbourhoods in Haiti by setting up reconstruction groups.
*** Rapport annuel sur la transposition des directives 2005. Boutique de l'Assemblée nationale (4 rue Aristide Briand, F-75007 Paris. Tel: (33-1) 4063612190). 2005, No. 2447, 202 pp, 6-50 euros. ISBN 2-11-118680-5
France has long been under the spotlight for delays in transposing EU legislation, but this third annual report of the French National Assembly's Delegation for the European Union, whose job it is to present European legislation to the French parliament and guide it in this domain, reveals that France has made progress in this area and made good some of the backlog because of greater political will to get the job done. The first part of the report is a general study of French transposition of EU legislation, looking at why transposition has been improved and potential further improvements. The second part analyses all the un-transposed directives, classified under the ministry responsible. The Delegation parliamentarians call for extra attention to be paid to dealing swiftly with directives.