Library

The Union of Europeanists and Federalists of Spain (UEF Spain) together with the Spanish Federal Council of the European Movement (CFEME) have promoted the elaboration of this liber amicorum in honour of Enrique Barón, on the occasion of the 75th anniversary of his birth, to remember his legacy in favour of democracy and social justice in Spain and in the European Union.

Cristiana Muscardini’s book, I nostri domiciliari – Ulisse Edizioni, 2021), is the account of the facts and statements of the days of the pandemic, from the beginning of the closure until 2 July 2020. The author adds her consideration to the facts, numbers, statements told by the mass media. Every day she dedicated many hours to make an account of what was happening so that the memory was not lost and we could learn from mistakes. In the book you will also find so many official statements that later turned out to be wrong, many statements denied by the facts, and you will remember the pain that could have been avoided, at least in part. The numbers do not speak for themselves but the voice of reality accompanies them.

The book is dedicated to the universal sustainability approach under UN initiative outlining the World in 2050 policy tasks. The transfer within half a century from Peccei‘s green sustainability notion to universal sustainability concept was of substantial metatheoretical importance and influenced wide metaeconomic multicriterial researches.

The European Movement has promoted the elaboration of this liber amicorum in honour of José María Gil-Robles Gil-Delgado, on the occasion of the eighty-fifth anniversary of his birth, due to the fact that his life has been linked to the European Movement since his youth and since the “Munich Contubernium” through his father, and later in the Spanish Association for European Cooperation (AECE), and later, since CFEME moved to Madrid once the Spanish Constitution was approved, he has always been linked to it, even when he was President of the European Parliament, where he defended our common project.

They say that politics is always local. Seán Ó Neachtain first entered politics because of the lack of a public water system in his local area of Spiddal. His first years as a community activist on the local committee and as the secretary of the local chapter of Fianna Fáil was where he learned about campaigning for community issues. From there, he was invited to stand in the local elections for the Galway County Council in 1979 and a few short months later he was asked to stand in the first election for Údarás na Gaeltachta. That started a period that would last 30 years in which he served as an elected representative in public life. He stood in nine elections, three county council, four Údarás na Gaeltachta and in the elections for the European Parliament.

Social enterprise and third sector activity have expanded into a prolific area of academic research and discourses over the past twenty years, with many claiming their origins rooted in Blair, New Labour and Giddens’ “Third Way”. But many academic contributions lack the experience of policy implementation and do not access the wealth of grey, legacy and public policy literature from earlier periods that support different interpretations. Since most make few references to developments during the 1970s and 1980s, their narrow focus on New Labour from 1997 onwards not only neglects real antecedents, but miscasts the role of social enterprise. During a key political period from 1998 to 2002, Blair’s New Labour Governments forced through a major conceptual shift for social enterprise, co-operative and third sector activity. Many structures, formed as community responses to massive deindustrialisation in the 1970s and 1980s, were repositioned to bid against the private sector to obtain contracts for delivery of low cost public services. Based on previously unseen archival materials and interviews with key players between 1998 and 2002, when major social enterprise and third sector policy changes occurred, Huckfield offers an alternative narrative of social enterprise in the UK, showing how local communities have been denied the restoration of local economic and social democracy.

During the last six years, a team of scholars, researchers and religious leaders in Europe and the USA worked tirelessly, organising over seventy discussion groups that included members of the local Muslim communities. This volume presents for the first time the result of their work, developed in collaboration with the Anglican Observer to the United Nations. All discussions were designed to explore different views, rather than to reach a common position. The overall aim of the project is to provide a window on the rich and diverse world of “Western Islam”, by connecting directly with the everyday life of Muslim citizens in Britain, France, Italy, Germany, Spain, the United States and Canada.

“In the midst of all the mess we’ve lived through we realised that we’re all feeling it differently. Corona is not only statistics. It’s about ordinary people. So we have gathered a story about young, middle aged and old people, from small apartments or the countryside, in war or conflict, under occupation, from health care and affected persons, migrant workers, undocumented, asylum seekers. A bit of everything and from all continents. Some of them are anonymous, and from some countries they didn’t dare even to write anonymously. The stories are written describing the first 9 month of lockdown.”

“This incisive booklet – written in the midst of a pandemic, while governments are following one another in adopting regulations that are causing <a significant problem of democratic quality> – is an intense warning to the political world to restore the strength and centrality of parliaments: “leaving the old rooms”, facing challenges, innovating in tune with the European Union. The horizon outlined is that of giving a breath of fresh air and a soul to a struggling democracy. It is precisely in the vitality of the parliamentary assemblies that democracy can find its regenerative strength.”

“This is a serious and well-researched book. Glyn Ford, a former leader of British Labour MEPs, has put his experience from over fifty visits to the DPRK (North Korea) to good use in an update to his 2008 book “North Korea on the Brink: Struggle for Survival”

It is the perfect concise introduction to the European Union for those beginning to study the subject.

Astrid Lulling, born to a labours family in Schifflingen, is a living legend. From 1949 onwards, she experienced as young labour unionist the foundation of the European Coal and Steal Community. As socialist parliamentarian after 1965 she fought for the equality between men and women in the European Parliament and the Chamber. In 1970 she was elected the first female mayor in a local community in Luxembourg. Astrid Lulling was the figurehead of the Socialist party until 1982 before Pierre Werner was winning her over for the Christian- Democratic party. She was loved, hated, and experienced ups and downs during her political career. Despite the hostilities, she was one of the most popular politicians until her resignation in 2014. The Bar at the European Parliament in Brussels is named after her: “Astrid Lulling Lounge”. In this book she wrote down her memories…with a twinkle in the eye.

This book is available through www.editions-schortgen.lu

This essay is intended as a contribution of ideas on the hypotheses of evolution and development of contemporary society in the perspective of the next fifty years. It presents a political vision of the existing problems, without presuming to have sociological or economic expertise, but only on the basis of a sensitivity deriving from experience in national and European institutions. The political events of the present day are intertwined with significant economic events such as the crisis; they must be explored in all the aspects inherent to human society, without neglecting the multiple sensitivities that each person brings as positive baggage to enrich society. Ultimately, any action taken by the institutions must aim at the human growth of each person and the enhancement of their precious originality. The essay dwells on the worldwide problem of sovereign debts and proposes a solution hypothesis with the aim of decoupling them from the financial market, to prevent states from suffering the effects of economic and financial crises, as has happened recently. The book also includes translations of the text into English, German, French and Spanish.

Everything in the Qur’an is explained and put in the context of the modern and ancient world, especially the relationship between Islam and the West. The descriptions are illustrated and underpinned with 400 of the most telling quotations from the Qur’an. Includes a special study of the relationship between ISI and the provisions of the Qur’an. Everything that is actually and undeniably in the Qur’an is incontestable in Islam. All other Islamic writings are debatable.

In Marseilles, against a backdrop of amorous passions and blood crimes, the beautiful and mysterious Lydie is a forensic doctor. Her fiancé and two of her friends receive anonymous letters informing them of their impending death in reprisal for an act they allegedly committed ten years earlier. Will the investigation led by Commissioner Gastaud save them? Will it allow the author of these letters to be arrested in time and prove their innocence? In a race against time and death, the various characters will be confronted with small groups whose only law is the rules they have set for themselves. A visit to a secretive and mysterious Marseilles where nothing and nobody is what it seems to be.

Jacqueline Grand was born and raised in Marseille. A woman of conviction, she has lived several lives (lawyer, member of the European Parliament, etc.) and today devotes part of her time to writing. Jacqueline Grand has a taste for adventure and discovery, she has the art of cultivating mystery and secrecy.

A widely popular and determined leader in the European Parliament, the Hans-Gert Pöttering is a staunch defender of the institutions created to give the “Community method” expression – for, as he writes, quoting Jean Monnet, “nothing is possible without men, but nothing is lasting without institutions”. At this point of danger of European fragmentation, United for the Better is a timely reminder of all that has been achieved and the perils of forgetting our common history.The book’s title comes from the words of the Berlin Declaration of 25 March 2007: “We, the citizens of the European Union, have united for the better”.

‘Verklempt’, Yiddish slang, means ‘choked with emotion.’ In his latest collection of stories, internationally best-selling author Peter Sichrovsky aggressively dismantles post-Holocaust Jewish identity. These are love stories where love is a bitter pill, a joke, a missed chance at happiness, a secret, a ghost, or a longing to be with a person one cannot even remember. Sichrovsky writes without embellishment, spare outlines of characters that feel familiar, and infuses them with dark humor and tragedy. With characteristic inquisitiveness and provocation, Sichrovsky delivers a delightful collection that entertains and inspires us to tears, laughter, revelations. Darkly humorous, absurd, sometimes tragic and erotic. Foreword by award-winning playwright Ari Roth.

The Royal Edinburgh Military Tattoo is one of the greatest shows on earth. Around 220,000 people attend each year and it is viewed on TV by 100 million. This book is the story of the Tattoo, narrated by Alasdair Hutton and prefaced by a short history of tattoos pre-Edinburgh and a history of the Tattoo pre-Alasdair. With an ever-changing cast of over 1,000 performers, each year’s show is unique. Some elements remain unchanged, such as the spine-tingling Lone Piper playing on the Castle ramparts, the cacophony of sound that is the closing massed pipes and drums, and the welcoming voice of Alasdair Hutton.

A no vote in the referendum would be disastrous not only for the left, but for the country as a whole and for European politics. The editors argue, in the new introductory chapter to this 2nd edition., that the success of the left in Britain depends on successfully working with its European counterparts to shift the political balance in the EU. Contributors argue that the UK left should work with other European progressives to create a programme for economic, social and ecological renewal for Europe in the world. They also offer a radical agenda for change and reform in Europe. They discuss austerity’s throttling of Europe’s growth prospects; suggest how to respond to the return of poverty and rampant inequalities; and how to challenge unaccountable corporate power. They also engage critically with Europe’s environmental policies, which have been long on promise and short on delivery; its short-sighted immigration management; and its sacrifice of fair trade in the name of an ideological commitment to unbridled globalisation.

First published in 1990, for more than a quarter-century this has been the premier textbook on the European Parliament. This new 9th edition – the first for five years – has been fully updated and expanded, including all the familiar features and all recent significant developments. The book systematically and clearly covers every aspect of how the Parliament is elected, its internal structures and procedures, its powers and how it relates to the other EU institutions. It is written by insiders with vast accumulated experience of how the Parliament really works, with extra input from dozens of specialists within the Parliament. “An invaluable guide to the institution’s history, power and politics.” (Martin Schulz, President of the European Parliament)”Explains with utmost clarity how it all works. It is an indispensable tool for anyone interested in or dealing with the European Parliament.” (Jean-Claude Juncker, President of the European Commission)”This book is the authoritative guide to the European Parliament.” (Donald Tusk, President of the European Council)

“Ms. Zofija Kukovič offers a comprehensive account of her activities during her mandate in the book “START UP EUROPE”. The book is also of use to present and future MEPs, especially for those that wish to pursue work in the fields that Ms. Kukovič has specialised in.”

Once again with a Foreword by Neil Kinnock this book covers the period from the election of Tony Blair’s government in the UK in 1997, to 2010. It looks briefly at the twenty years prior to that and in an Afterword looks briefly at 2010 to 2015. It analyses the failure to inform and educate the British public about the merits and challenges of EU membership and relates that deficiency to the way in which the EU remained a misrepresented mystery to many. It offers insights into the attitudes towards the EU in government that at least in part paved the way to the referendum of 2016 leading to the UK’s departure from the EU in 2020. The role of Labour MEPs, by then largely in favour of the EU, is a large part of the book, which was also endorsed by Enrique Baron.

Over the past four decades the world has seen a ‘Green awakening’. Green parties have been elected to parliaments and councils all over the world, and in many cases have played a part in national and local government. A common set of Green priorities has been promoted by Green internationalisation and these parties are playing an increasing role at all levels of political decision-making. Will the Green awakening continue or will Greens be corrupted by power? What impact has Green politics had? Will Green thinking be able to compete with other ideologies in coping with the problems of the 21st century? Green Parties, Green Future analyses these issues on the basis of the experience of Green parties from all parts of the world.

The book is dedicated to His Excellency Dr. Yusuf Mohamed Ismail Bari-Bari, Somalia’s Ambassador to the United Nations, and to all the victims of terror. This book shows how dangerous the silence of the international community and also of Italy is in so many historical episodes, especially in the fight against terrorism, which requires a clear strategy, a transparency of common intentions and firm and concrete decisions. There can be no cultural or religious recognition where the universal rights of the human being are violently denied. The Western world bears a heavy responsibility for not intervening in those places in the world where the violent ‘prophets’ of hatred sow their word of death, where falsified religious dogma interpreted only to kill, oppress and sow ignorance takes the place of the law, and where freedom, democracy and human and religious respect are trampled underfoot.

On March 11, 2015 Lithuania celebrated the 25th anniversary of the Restoration of Independence, a milestone from a Soviet country on the way to a EU member State. Lithuania’s success formula can be defined in a very simple way: learning by doing. The book unveils this learning by analysing the details and it contains some articles already published in some newspapers. The book includes also the first Lithuanian market analytical data prepared by the Central Securities Depository of Lithuania, where the author led a research team.

In recent years, given the need to find the most effective and appropriate formulas for government in today’s increasingly complex societies, the debate on the validity of federalism as a political option has inevitably been rekindled, both in Spain and in Europe. The great majority of the world’s great powers have successfully developed a democratic system that is federal to a greater or lesser degree, and those that have not yet done so are beginning a progressive process of decentralisation, which demonstrates the validity and versatility of this form of distribution of powers and competencies.

Enrique Barón Crespo offers us in this book an account of a life dedicated to political action as well as a well-structured and contextualised picture of a crucial period and an accurate and in-depth reflection on aspects of political practice, change in Spain and the construction of Europe as an economic unit and a supranational social democracy. A member of the constituent Cortes, he joined Felipe González’s first government as a minister and, after leaving the executive in 1985, began a long journey in the European Parliament that led him to its presidency between 1989 and 1992, the exciting years that followed the fall of the Berlin Wall.

This book tells the story of Andrew Pearce MEP (Member of the European Parliament), who represented half a million people living in Merseyside and Cheshire at Strasbourg for ten years. It’s a human story, a down to earth account of what the daily job of an MEP is like. When Andrew applied to be a candidate in the first direct elections to the European Parliament in 1979, he could not have foreseen the places he would visit, the people he would meet and the actions he would be part of. Andrew had no knowledge that he’d be arrested ‘at gunpoint’ on a ferry on the Zambezi, bitten by a monkey in Sierra Leone and spend a night in a former Portuguese Army brothel in Angola. He expected to be debating with some of the big figures in European politics but could not know that they would include Barbara Castle, Ian Paisley, Pierre Pflimlin, Otto von Habsburg, French right wing leader Jean-Marie Le Pen and British European Commissioners including Leon Britain and Roy Jenkins. My Personal Story – In and Out of Europe is the entertaining, informative and personal recollections on the daily life of one MEP. It is a fascinating read for anyone curious about the EU and Britain’s role within it.

“The book is a kaleidoscope of incidents, most of which are apparently interconnected (according to Richard). However, there is a common background to most of them – the ‘usual suspects, are the CIA, MI5, the KGB and the Vatican. Strangely, the American Religious Right does not appear anywhere in the book! Some of the plots and sub plots described will be familiar albeit somewhat faded by the mist of time. An exception is the section on Bulgaria and the assassination in London of Georgi Markov who appears in Richard’s pages as a sort of Bulgarian James Bond with a licence to enjoy rather than kill due to the patronage of Bulgarian strongman, Todor Zivkov. The book is a good read provided you do not believe it all (or even half of it). It would not be out of place in the fiction section of any library.”

“Anyone interested in the evolution of the United Kingdom’s relationship with the European Union will find this book a good guide not only in its treatment of the internal politics of the Conservative Party but also in its explanation of the historic evolution of EEC to EC and now the EU. I recommend the book to all of Ben Patterson’s British colleagues in the European Parliament irrespective of party affiliation as well as to the wide range of puzzled opinion formers outside the 4 countries of the United Kingdom.”

“This book is the autobiography of a European who has had the good fortune to have reached the age of 85 whilst remaining reasonably lucid. It has been published in Spanish in Barcelona, by Planeta publishing house, the largest and strongest Spanish language publishing house that also publishes works in Catalan. Planeta is, in addition, one of the largest publishing houses in the world. The book spans 80 years of Spanish life and its title refers to the Second Republic (1931-36), to the terrible Civil War lasting from 1936 to 1939, which was caused by poor government during that Republic, to the long period of the Franco dictatorship which lasted until 1975, and to the democracy that fortunately we have been enjoying since then, and which is I believe inextricably linked to the Constitutional Monarchy headed with great talent by Juan Carlos I, who one day will be succeeded by his son Prince Felipe.”

“The book proceeds very logically through framework, working structures, the powers of the parliament and how they are used. The first two sections have developed gradually over the years but the third section has been extensively rewritten in the light of treaty changes and the post Lisbon scenario. Of particular interest are the sections outlining how the legislative procedure works and how in detail the parliament’s powers have evolved, where they now stand and how they can be used. I suspect that many serving members and officials will be consulting this book to check up on exactly what the position is in different areas of parliament’s competences. In conclusion, an excellent read well worth buying.”

“The new book is presented as part 2 of ‘Economics explained to my daughter’. It widens horizons and abandons the question and answer format that his previous books employed. Presumably his daughter has grown up since the first book published in 1997! It also acknowledges that the world has moved on, and economics with it. For example, his new book includes sections on ecology, climatic change, living standards, development, growth and its possible limits and several others. ‘The Secrets of Prosperity’ (Les secrets de la prospérité) is a ‘good read’. It is also reassuringly sceptical about some of the fashionable doubts cast on ‘competition’ and ‘globalisation’.”

“The author makes a strong plea for the cornerstone of European thinking: the internal market. This should remain the driving force behind European integration. In order not to lack behind on the world level Europe requires venture capital, innovation, enterprise and a smaller government. Not a United States of Europe, but a United Europe of States. In conclusion, a book very worth reading, written with a touch of mild irony and exaggeration. But thoroughly supported by facts and written by a politician who is well placed to give an expert view.”

“In the first decade of the 21st century the Liberal group (known as the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe – ALDE – from 2004) emerged as a powerful third force in the European Parliament, challenging the bi-polar order of Conservatives and Socialists.Graham Watson shows how this happened, detailing the Liberal impact on a whole range of policy issues at EU level and the important linkages with Liberal success at national level. He concludes that ‘the potential for further growth of the European Liberal centre remains greater than at any point in the last 100 years’.Politics and personalities combine to make this a richly informative and insightful insider’s account which will be of interest to all who follow EU affairs and Liberal politics.”

With a Foreword by Neil Kinnock, this book traces the turbulent years of Labour MEPs during the first 20 years of the elected European Parliament. It was a time when the UK Labour Party policy on membership of the EU began by being against membership and changed in the mid 1980s to being more positive. The Labour Group was led for most of that time by veteran UK politician Barbara Castle but was at that time riven with opposing views and there were many internal battles. This is the only history of Labour MEPs during that period.

Superbly illustrated with great wealth of images, the monograph on the Tuscan architect testifies to Massimo Baldi’s impressive contribution to the history of architecture and urban planning of the twentieth century. The project archive, an immense patrimony made up of projects, drawings, studies and documents, has been declared of cultural interest by the Archival Superintendency for Tuscany. His polyhedric political and professional commitment is highlighted by esteemed architects. The authoress pauses to outline his professionalism, his communicative spirit, his vitality and his strong human charge that he expressed in many ways. Of particular interest to scholars is the part relating to the archival fund deposited in the State Archives of Florence and the reproduction of about thirty projects.

“The historical memory on her father Massimo that Monica Baldi deposited, with great foresight, in the State Archives represents an important contribution to the knowledge of that history that cannot be ignored by the institutions and the ruling class of an advanced country.”

This book was written in the midst of heated public debates on European Constitution. As AFCO-member and member of European Convention I’ve put the focus on countering the outrageous fakes circulated mainly by left wing forces.

The book starts with an overview about the European Constitutional process from the Declaration of Laeken in 2001 until the signing of the Lisbon Treaty in December 2007. It explains the European Convention in 2002/03, analyses the No-votes in France and the Netherlands in 2005 and describes the restart of the Constitutional process with the Berlin Declaration in March 2007.

The main part is written in a fictitious dialogue stile. Citing dozens of various fakes about the EU and it’s Constitution / Lisbon Treaty the authors argue by explaining Treaty provisions in detail and in easy understandable language. In his preface Daniel Cohn-Bendit, co-chair of the Green group in European Parliament, underlines the importance of standing up against anti-European populism.

“A large part of the book is dedicated to his monitoring, in his capacity as member of Parliament’s Committee on Constitutional Affairs, of the preparation of the draft European Constitution and the vicissitudes of its ratification and its transformation – not exempt from problems or the role of chance – into the Treaty of Lisbon. Mr Nogueira believes that the new Treaty marks a step forward and opens up new prospects for the ‘nations without a state’ and their languages. All in all, this volume, which is supplemented by a collection of its author’s plenary speeches, offers an original analysis of a project as original in itself as is the European Union.”

“Mary Banotti has written a fascinating book about Irish politics based on interviews with 13 prominent ‘Marys’ (14 including her own interview with her former school teacher, John Flanagan). The interviewees were from across the spectrum of Irish politics. The majority were Fianna Fàil, two Fine Gael, one of whom is Mary herself, one Labour, one Green and one Sinn Féin. Interestingly, there is little in the interviews revealing the differences between the parties represented. What is striking is the similarity between the early battles of women to get elected to the Irish Dàil and the difficulties of combining a political career with the responsibilities motherhood. In short, an easy, chatty, interesting read for anyone interested in politics whether male, female or not called Mary!”

The autobiography ‘Simple philosophies for tough times’ was published in 2007 by Zofija Mazej Kukovič and can be consulted on her website.

“After I was selected to be a Member of the European Parliament in 1978 a colleague asked me why I wanted to go to a place that had no power. I replied that if you put 435 politicians into a parliament with nothing else to do, they would soon manage to collect themselves some power. Julian’s book shows some of the many developments which led from the relatively toothless parliament of 1979 to today’s powerful institution. Overall Julian has done an excellent job of setting out dispassionately the facts behind some of parliament’s key battles. Apart from former Members who will find this fascinating, it should be required reading for any one studying the European institutions, for academic or career linked purposes.”