Contenu du sommaire

The Nice Treaty: a Deconstruction of a Recasting of the Union?, by Françoise de La Serre The Nice Treaty fulfils the necessary preconditions for enlargement in terms of institutional reform. But is that sufficient to ensure a capacity for governance in the enlarged Union? In spite of some not inconsiderable progress, there is room for doubt. By anticipating a follow-up to Nice, and the opening of a new institutional construction-site in 2001, the existing members acknowledge that the debate is far from over and that some vital questions need answers: what project and what institution for Europe?

After Nice: Towards a Federal Government?, by Philippe Moreau Defarges The question of a European federal Government is henceforth on the agenda of the European Union. Until now, Europe, originally of the European Communities and now of the European Union, has been governed by a very complex System. A supranational authority, the European Commission, is combined with intergovernmental bodies, the Council of Ministers and the European Council. The structural weakening of the Commission as much as the equivocation of the European Council call for a reappraisal of the European governmental System. European Construction was intended to be "original", unfettered by the traditional categories of law (executive, legislative and judicial powers). At the present time, the deepening of integration and the prospects of enlargement bring the European Union back toward these categories. In the years to corne, a fundamental debate on what a European federal Government can and must be is sure to take place.

France and Germany, by Hans Stark The recent deterioration in Franco-German relations in the context of the Union is perhaps the greatest crisis of confidence which France and Germany have experienced since 1974. It is not that these relations have been free in the past from differences and tension: the Euromissile crisis, the break-up of ex-Yugoslavia or the foundations of political Union and Economic and Monetary Union can be evoked. Although, until recently, these bilateral disagreements were always overcome in the run-up to European summits, at which the two countries presented, more often than not, common position. Such was "the motor" of the Union. In 2000 however, the two Governments clearly announced their discord on such funda mental issues as the reform of institutions, the Common Agricultural Policy, and European Constitution. After the disappointment of Nice, it is up to the two countries, setting aside their struggle for hegemony on the old continent, to restart a Franco-German dynamic sadly lacking since Maastricht, to advance the cause of the Union.

The Enlargement Process After Nice, by Gunter Verheugen This article looks at the current enlargement process of the European Union, unique in the history of European integration. The process consists of negotiations with ten candidate countries from Central and Eastern Europe as well as Cyprus and Malta. Turkey has been granted candidate status. What conditions do thèse countries have to fulfil and how do the negotiations proceed? Answers to these questions, and the benefits and challenges of the process are discussed. Finally, it is shown how the Nice Treaty has cleared the remaining institutional obstacles to enlargement for the Union such that it will be ready to admit new Member States from the end of 2002.

A European Constitution: if, and only if..., by Sylvie Goulard and Christian Lequesne The adoption of a European Constitution can be a qualitative leap for the European Union as it does not consist in yet another treaty resulting from the "old" intergovernmental method. In this paper, the authors propose a new method for the adoption of a European Constitution. The French National Assembly and the German Bundestag should set the process in motion by organizing a common session to which other national parliaments are invited to debate and produce reports. A group of Member States, including France and Germany, should then ask a body of independent experts to produce a draft text. This group should include representatives from candidate countries. The next step should be the examination of the draft text in a Convention opened to the Member States that favour the deepening of the integration process. This Convention would be comprised of members of European and national parliaments, government representatives, and experts. In approving the final text, the choice should be between ratification at the European or national levels. This paper underlines the fact that the constitutional process should aim at the reform of the institutions rather than an altering of the balance of the Rome Treaty between Member States and the supranational bodies such as the Commission, the European Parliament, and the Court of Justice.

A New Constitution for the Old Continent?, by Ulrike Guérot After the surprisingly poor results of the European Council of Nice and looking ahead to enlargement, Europe is now engaged in a constitutional debate. The European Union must rethink: first, the horizontal power sharing between the Union and its Member States, to apply better the principle of subsidiarity; and, second, the vertical power sharing between European Institutions, in terms of a clear executive and legislative function for each of them. This new structure must be competent, must delegate authority clearly and efficiently, and give to European Union citizens the possibility of sanctioning the players through elections. Without excluding the other States, France and Germany will have to maintain their traditional "motor" in European integration. In bringing together their two very différent political Systems, they must create a governance structure sui generis for the European Union.

European Defence: from Autonomy to Integration, by Jacques Walch After much vacillation, European defence has become a reality. Its advent is announced through organisations, procedures and obligations. Henceworth, Member States, and the Union itself will have to plan for the coexistence between present military structures and the new ones. For the European Union, it is a matter of finding a comprehensive efficiency through the coalescing of the practicies of its three pillars. The present members will have to manage the issue of a genuine European command structure. France will have to balance the discrepancies between its traditional strategy and the new European military policy.

The Uneasy Reconciliation Between Germany and the Czech Republic, by Jacques Rupnik and Anne Bazin In Spite of the Friendly Cooperation Treaty of 1992, and the Déclaration of Reconciliation of 1997, relations between Germany and the Czech Republic remain troubled by problems inherited from the Second World War: the expulsion of Sudetan Germans on one side, and compensation for Czech victims of nazism on the other. Ten years after German Reunification and Vaclav Havel's speech in front of the Brandenburg Gâte in Berlin, these questions are stakes in domestic politics in Berlin, Prague, and, also, Vienna. They feed po-pulist currents in Germany and Austria and alter the terms of the debate over the young republic's entry into the European Union. If they persist, these obstacles, bequeathed by history, could even defer and complicate the European enlargement process to the countries of Central and Eastern Europe.

Turkey's Candidacy to the European Union: Domestic Political Stakes and Immigration, by Hamit Bozarslan A turning point in the sometimes difficult history of relations between Brussels and Ankara was marked by the dzcision at the European summit in Helsinki (December 1999) to accord candidates status to Turkey for entry into the EU. The main arguments, which had prevented Turkey's candidacy from being taken into consideration ― the Muslim religion, and the level of development ― have been replaced by the Copenhagen criteria pertaining to human rights, respect for minorities, and the market economy. It is now the responsibility of the Turkish Government, and it alone, to instigate an evolution that would allow Turkey to meet these clearly political requirements whose observance would imply, needless to say, a transfer of powers in Ankara from the military to the civilians, and a respect for the rights of minorities, be they Islamic or Kurdish. At this critical juncture for the neo-Kemalist power, the Turkish diaspora in Europe is called to play a part which could turn out to be decisive.

Secession and Continuity Within the European Union, by Andrés Ortega and José M. de Areilza There is no provision in the various treaties that established the Community and then the European Union for a Member State to withdraw from the Union. Neither is there any provision for a Member State to split into two of more States. Would thèse new States benefit from the policies and the statutes that applied to the original State? Or would they have to renegotiate their entry to the Union in the manner of a candidate country? Morevoer, it is still possible for the territory of a Member State not to form part of the European Union, as is the case for Greenland, an integral part of Denmark. In any event, it would seem that the break-up of Member States, even if the new States were to adhere to the Union following a similar procédure to that of enlargement, presents more disadvantages than advantages, as much for the cohesion of Europe as for the future of the new States themselves.

The Political Dimensions of OPEC, by Robert Mabro Petroleum is a political commodity. Paradoxically, OPEC, which was established to deal with such a commodity, is held together by common economie interests relating to oil prices and revenues. Yet politics inevitably plays a rple. It can delay the reaching of agreements between member countries. On the sharing of the rent between governments of producing and importing countries, producers have turned out to be the weaker parties. The oil-exporters' dependence for political survival on oil revenues turns out to be a determinant of price movements. Today, even the rich OPEC countries feel financially vulnerable, and this common feeling is the new cernent which enhances their cohesion. However, OPEC will only be able to hold the line during the coming recession if the fall in world oil demand is small.

The Warming of the Planet: on the Need for a "De-carbonisation" of Energy, by Bob van der Zwaan Since our planet is subject to global warning, which could significantly alter living conditions on Earth, the aim of energy policies would be to stabilise greenhouse gas concentrations in the atmosphere at no more than double the pre-industrialisation value. With likely increase in global energy consumption by a factor of 2 to 3 in the first half of the 21st century, this implies that in 2050 carbon-free resources must contribute to total commercial energy supply by 60 to 70% compared to about 14% today. Emission abatement analysis shows that mankind has a decade or two to undertake the R&D necessary to evaluate the opportunities for expanding the use of present carbon-free energy alternatives. All options available for freeing energy use from carbon emissions should be subjected to thorough research. In the long run, carbon-free nuclear fission could become indispensable to allow for climate-beneficial energy production and economic growith and development. Research should therefore be intensified to further address the problems of radioactive waste, reactor safety and nuclear proliferation.

Strange's World System, by Jonathan Story Susan Strange considered that traditional approaches to the study of international relations, realism and idealism, non longer addressed world conditions. Its practitioners had allowed an ever deeper gulf to develop between international politics and international économies, Her proposal was to place markets and firms at the center of her theory about the world System.