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Articles on the European Constitution
The Federal Future of Europe: From the European Community to the European Union.
Dusan SidjanskiISBN: 0-472-11075-6
Publisher: University of Michigan Press
Pub. Date: September 2000The Federal Approach to the European Union or The Quest for an Unprecedented European Federalism
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Ernst B. Haas, Robson Research Professor Emeritus of Government,
University of California, Berkeley
"Dusan Sidjanski's The Federal Future of Europe is remarkable for two reasons. It offers a comprehensive but eminently readable summary and analysis of the institutions of the European Union and of its main policies. This is no mean feat, considering the complexity and sweep of both. But in addition, the discussion is placed in the context of an unwavering commitment to federalism and to a federal future for Europe. Even if we do not agree with the desirability or certainty of that outcome, it is vital that this vision remain on everyone's agenda along with other possible options, and that it be intelligently defended. Sidjanski succeeds brilliantly in so doing."
"This is an important contribution to the discussion about the future of Europe in the early twenty first century from one of the great men of the subject. But it is also a masterly account of the development of the European Union since its earliest years to the present. It is written from a Federalist perspective, but this is no polemic. Rather the argument is nuanced, and rich in detail and insight, and is a fitting antidote to doctrinaire Euroscepticism. I can strongly recommend it to all those who want to know about the Union, its origins, character and future."
Professor Jean Louis Quermonne, Institut d'études politiques, Paris et Grenoble. Honorary president of the French Association of Political Science
"Having been one of the first to consider European integration as an object of political science (Dimensions européennes de la science politique, Paris, LGDJ 1963), a short time after the signing of the Maastricht treaty, Dusan Sidjanski published: "L'Avenir fédéraliste de l'Europe" (Presses Universitaires de France, Paris, 1992) which constitutes the first synthesis of the European political union. The legitimate success of the book including the more recent developments in European construction called for an English translation. But more than an update, "The Federal Future of Europe" is both a major work and an essay, combining the history of the process of European federalization and the institutional and political diagnostic, as well as an evaluation of the present state of the euro-building. This study is enriched by an analysis of the impact on the economic and social forces, which make up civil society. Under the heading "Toward a New European Federal Model" (p.411), the author has the merit of underling the singularity of the process in relation to the Confederation of States and the traditional Federal State. He outlines the formation of a specific model, inspired by the federal method proper to certain member States. This method borrows a certain number of traits from cooperative federalism, but aims above all to operate the synthesis between two sources of legitimacy: those of the member States and those of citizens considered individually, susceptible of forming a united Europe in line with the wishes of Jacques Delors: A federation of nation States. In every respect, the English version of the work has come at the right time and we wish it the same success as the French, not only beyond the Channel, but also beyond the Atlantic!"
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The Federal Future of Europe: From the European Community
to the European Union. By Dusan Sidjanski. Ann Arbor:
University of Michigan Press, 2000, 462 p. $ 65.00.
Federalism and European Union: The Building of Europe,
1950-2000. By Michael Burgess. New York: Routledge, 2000,
290 pp. $ 90.00 (paper, $ 29.99).
The European Union's disappointing summit last December
underlined how much European integration is caught in
conflicting drives and aspirations. The EU's functional
scope is broader than ever, thanks to monetary union and the
new move toward a rapid reaction force. Its planned
enlargement will extend its reach to the whole continent.
But its system of governance is too Byzantine to function
well, too obscure to be understood by its citizens, and too
paralyzed by antagonisms. Neither the potential new members
nor the United Kingdom seem willing to move toward a more
federal structure. The tensions between the smaller and the
larger states are acute, and the Franco-German "axis" is
cracked.
In these two works, Sidjanski and Burgess focus on the
debate between "federalists" and "intergovernmentalists"
that has raged for decades. Burgess concerns himself with
theories of European integration, trying to measure how far
federalism has been achieved. But his conclusion &endash;
that the EU has both confederal and federal elements, and
these two schemes actually share many common features
&endash; is a somewhat disappointing cop-out. (These
elements in fact tend to lead in different directions, as
the United States found out in its early years.) Sidjanski,
in contrast, provides an eminently clear account of the EU's
origins and development, arguing that federalism is both
Europe's future and the best way to contain excessive
nationalism. He devotes much space to the Balkan tragedies,
which Burgess barely mentions, but his focus leads him into
a different kind of trap. He analyzes the EU's evolution as
a troubled yet necessary march toward federalism but fails
to ask what it would take to build a European public space
&endash; and whether there can be a European federation
without a European "people". He seems torn between his faith
and his awareness of the obstacles to federation.
FOREIGN AFFAIRS, Notes on Recent Books, March/April 2001, p. 178 and 179.
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Dusan Sidjanski: The Federal Future of Europe, From the European Community to the European Union. The University of Michigan Press
(Internet: http://www.press.umich.edu), 2000, 462p. ISBN 0-472-11075-6
This incontestable literary classic, dedicated to European integration, and, more particularly, to contemporary federalist reflection was published in French in 1992. It has taken over eight years publication of the English version. May English readers know that they will not be disappointed. Firstly, because the analysis of Dusan Sidjanski, founder in 1969 of the political science department at the University of Geneva, where he is presently professor Emeritus, remains of a rare academic quality and will allow the Anglo-Saxon reader to establish the bridges between federalism and the neo-functionalist approach, with which, as Jacques Delors pointed out, he is fully familiar. It is thus that this translation fills a void, though it is true that, in the past, Anglo-Saxon readers had the tendency of largely ignoring the federalist concept. Secondly, because the author, a Swiss citizen, born in Yugoslavia is not only a scrupulous academic, but also, a critical militant but passionate federalist, whose latest work has been enriched with three new chapters covering the end of the last century.
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The Federal Future of
Europe is a major study that provides a profound analysis of
the European Union and its evolution. This English version
comes at a particular moment, when Europe is preparing for
enlargement and at the aftermath of the Nice Summit, where
member states are engaging in a formal and authoritative
debate about the future of Europe. Presently, there is a
wide agreement that the present institutions can not work in
an E.U. of 27 states, but opinions diverge on the model that
best suits the European Union.
Dusan Sidjanski, a leading European scholar, has argued for
a long time in a consistent way that federalism is the
future of Europe. Today this vision is gaining consistency
and valid support. Recently Mr. Schroeder expressed some of
the SPD views regarding the future shape of European
institutions, which are largely supported by the German
Christian Democrats. They argue for a Federal European Union
inspired in the German model. Others, like in the United
Kingdom, do not share the same perspective and tend to
prefer a more “loose”
idea of Europe based in an enlarged Common Market focused
on free trade.
In the European‚at the People Party, the biggest
political family represented in the European Parliament (to
which my party, PSD belongs to), we are seriously engaged in
shaping a better and stronger Europe for all its citizens,
putting people at the centre of the Union. My party believes
in the future of Europe and we are proud of the
contribuition we gave in the Portuguese government from 1985
to 1995, to the European project.
Europe is a new form of political organisation
It won‚to be a federation in the conventional sense,
but it might be a new form of federal system, of which
economic and monetary union is the precursor. This unique
form of political organisation may follow the objectives of
federalism and the community method.
The debate, about the future of Europe, will dominate
European politics for the following years. In my opinion,
this new debate should engage, not only, a small group of so
called experts, but also all representatives of our
societies, including all European citizens that wish to
participate. For this reason the content of this book
provides a stimulating exercise. I congratulate Prof.
Sidjanski for his great contribution.Europe can only be
built with the participation of men and women that point out
the core issues and pave the way for future debates before
they can be solved at a political level.
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Prof. Sidjanski's The Federal Future of Europe: From the European Community to the European Union comes at a very timely moment. The EU is lacking a vision for its own future and the best proof of this is the ambiguous results of the Nice Treaty. Seen in this context Prof. Sidjanski's analysis constitutes a major contribution to an in-depth reflection on the EU's future. Indeed, one of the interesting features of the book is that it combines in a very intelligent way the evolution of the institutional structures of the EU and the decision-making process with the federalist approach. For the author the future of the EU goes in parallel with the future of federalism. The future of the latter "lies in the microchip, programmed into the proliferation of horizontal networks, transforming the notion and use of power, and reversing the traditional pyramid". No doubt, the greatest danger for the EU is the re-emergence in Europe of nationalism in its various forms and modalities and, for the author, only federalism can provide an adequate answer to these challenges. The ongoing enlargement process can only really be successful if it is seen in this context. Sidjanski's book is clearly compulsory reading for anyone concerned about and committed to tomorrow's Europe.
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The Federal Future of Europe is not the projection of the past sixty years of the European history into a future cokkep up for us by a federalist scholar. This book is a study of the European politics of the past half century and its "open door" future.
State and sovereignty are not immutable. Human societies and territorial units never had the same political format but changed and adapted to the circumstances and pressures put to them by economic, material and culture transformations. From their own political tradition and culture and the lessons of the past, human societies learn how to adapt their political system to the challenges of changing circumstances.
Dusan Sidjanski has made the study of this evolutionary adaptation of the states and societies of Europe to the change of the reality the main scientific engagement of his last thirty years work. His study of the political values and institutions of the European co-operation has been aimed to unveiling the paths of the integration process and showing consolidated features of the evolution of politics in a continent in which states have been continuously made and re-made up.
The use of the federalist concepts is not a bias to beware of, but an intellectual method in harmony with a tradition that has an undeniable strong and permanent presence in the European culture. The great merit of Dusan Sidjanski's lesson is right that one. A big political work in progress is out there. This construction work is not headed toward the simple reproduction of any known experience federal state. Still, it is based on an intellectual history that, at the same time, unravels and upgrades.
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"Europe is our affair"
"To misname things is to contribute to
the misery of the world", wrote Albert Camus. When so many
actors and political commentators make vague statements on
unclear concepts, let us thank Professor Sidjanski for
having updated and translated into English, his book on
federalism first published in french, eight years ago.
In clear and precise terms, with rigour and passion, the
author retraces European integration over the last 50 years,
since the Monnet-Schuman Declaration of May
9th 1950. This
adventure is far from over: nothing has been won, at this
time of judgement and decision or "crisis" - in the Greek
sense of the word -.
The European Union - in the process of enlargement - risks,
if not withdrawal behing national boundaries then a return
to simple intergovernmental cooperation. Were some member
states, (or future members) to decide to move forward,
further and more quickly, along the path to an original form
of federalism, an authentic European federalism that would
be the "near ?" future, which Dusan SIdjanski
suggests.
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Canadian Journal of Political Science, vol. 34, no. 3
The Federal Future of Europe: From European Community to the European Union
The Federal Future of Europe is a sound and well-researched piece of scholarship and advocacy on Europe and the process of European integration. As noted by Jacques Delors in the introductory note, Dusan Sidjanski presents a continental perspective on the processes of European integration, a standpoint that will be of particular interest to Canadian scholars with interests in the study of Europe. This perspective asserts the importance of the federak approach in understanding the contemporary transformations of Europe, and while many Western scholars, particularly in North America, might find this approach surprising, Sidjanski is treading in the footsteps of Alberta Sbragia's Euro-Politics (Washington: Brookings, 1992), and the more recent The Choice for Europe, by Andrew Moravscik (Ithaca: Cornell University Press, 1998), both highly relevant contributions that attempt to arrive at the most complete and accurate explanations of the processes of European integration. Sbragia, as early as 1992, suggested an institutional model for the European Union similar to Germany-s federal system (Sbragia, 1992, 257-295). In contrast, Moravscik's view is that states' power determines the outcomes of interstates bargaining and that the European Union is an inter-governmental regime (Moravscik, 7).
As stated earlier, The Federal Study of Europe has a dual purpose. First, Sidjanski makes the theoretical claim that a federalist approach provides the grounds for understanding the processes of European integration. In addition, however, Sidjanski's faith in the federalist argument also leads him to make a more political claim: the future of Europe is necessarily federal. Relying on social and historical descriptions, Sidjanski suggests that a federal Europe will emerge from the European integration process. Sidjanski's case for a future federal Europe is a strong one, bolstered by his answers to certain key questions: for example, why federalism has been a key founding idea of European integration and why federalism will remain a necessity.
Sidjanski's belief is that only a federal Europe can address contemporary European issues effectively, because only federaqlism can provide the necessary unity in diversity against the fragmenting effect of nationalism and intolerance. The collapse of the Soviet Union and the fragmentation and implosion of Yugoslavia are reminders and warnings that Europe, and particularly the new and forming European Union, has been and may still be prey to national rivalries and ethnis, religious and cultural intolerance.
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The English edition of this book, already available in its original French edition since 1992, now makes accessible to English-speaking readers, an important contribution to the study of the process of European unification. It is not simply a translation of an eight-year-old book. The historical coverage is updated until the most recent events such as the Treaty of Amsterdam and the conflict in Kosovo and consequently new evaluations are added.
As the title suggests, this book is an illuminating analysis of the European unification, which draws its strength from federalist theory.
The prevailing standpoint in political culture still is the national one. National culture has instilled in everybody's mind the tendency to consider as the normal reference for political thought one's own nation, and for political struggle the struggle for power in one's own State. Yet the tendency towards the unification of mankind, of which the European integration represents the most developed manifestation, is increasingly progressing against the resistance of national States, So, the national political culture proves more and more to be an obstacle for understanding and controlling the reality of an ever more interdependent world, proceeding irresistibly towards unification.
European integration has been the occasion for profound revisions of our political culture, which have shed new light over our past and at the same time made it possible to consider from a new perspective the great problems of the contemporary world. However, European unification is still a process yet to be completed, and only when it will reach, with the foundation of the federal state, its irreversible goal, could the new culture find the final verification of its validity.
Sidjanski's book demonstrates the superiority of the supra-national standpoint (which has its most coherent expression in the federalist theory) as the most appropriate for evaluating the events of contemporary history, for understanding them theoretically and for mastering them practically.
Since it is impossible to present a complete account of the numerous and meaningful contributions to the understanding of the different aspects of European unification which emerge from reading this book, I will confine myself to quote the conclusions reached by Sidjanski when he illustrates the new European federal model, namely the guidelines of the European Constitution conceived as the crowning of the long process of European unification. "The Council would become… a Council of States… exercising legislative functions together with the European Parliament… The European Council, representing the top executive of member states, could take on the role of a collegiate EU presidency… The European Commission would become a fully fledged executive body or government of the European Union" (pp.413-414).
These proposals coincide perfectly with the views contained in the document on the European Constitution presented in another section of this review. This is a confirmation of the fact that the federalist paradigm is not only a powerful tool for historical and political analysis, but is also an approach which leads those who employ it to the same revolutionary conclusions.
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Article paru dans la Revue suisse de science politique, volume 7, issue 3, Autumn 2001, p. 153
Another book about European integration? European politics are becoming very complex and pervade everyday life on the Old Continent. If only to understand such a reality, Professor Sidjanski's analysis is most welcome. This important book, however, provides additional reasons to command the attention of readers interested in grasping rapid changes occurring in the field. The analysis has been available in French since the early 1990s. This English version brings the account up to date and introduces key political evaluations to English-speaking readers.
Dusan Sidjanski founded the Department of Political Science at the University of Geneva some thirty years ago. From the very beginning, European integration was one of his main teaching topics, as if political theory, generally speaking, was meaningless without special attention given to Europe in the making. This, of course, is an interesting choice. Why should students in a Swiss university be informed so carefully of the political affairs of a federation to which they do not belong? As a matter of fact, most of them know, by now, that Switzerland had already been clearly associated, once, with an important event in the construction of Europe. Winston Churchill's most famous speech, calling for a union of European states, was made in Zurich after the Second World War. Neutrality was then a reason, among others, for holding such a meeting there. A quick look at any geographic map, though, strongly suggests that relevant information about the European Union in progress is rather, today, a matter of survival for Swiss citizens. To ignore the political processes surrounding the Confederation from all parts would be like navigating on the ocean without a compass.
The book is comprised of three parts. Part I deals with history, from the first steps to the Single European Act (1987). This very detailed history is ours, doubtless, in a meaningful way. The many details remind us of two essential roots of the European integration movement. The first one was the need and the longing to overcome war, if possible, forever. So far, the process has been successful, at least inside the frontiers of the Union. Beyond such a practical motivation, ideas about nationalism and nation-states were slowly challenged. In a certain sense, one must admit that European integration is a case in point as far as globalisation is concerned; it is in tune with value changes and challenges occurring in society and, to some extent, provides a laboratory for testing tentative solutions. The second essential root of the European movement was just as important: it was meant to grow as a shield against totalitarianism. Such an intention should not be forgotten, in spite of the many criticisms one can hear today about the democratic deficit of the Union. From that point of view also, the process has been successful insofar as the protection of human rights was a promotional activity for uniting Europe, and as potential new members are constantly required to give up totalitarian features in order to be admitted to the Union. Interestingly, the author reminds us of key historical figures personifying those ideals, such as Altiero Spinelli (a member of the Resistance, a war prisoner, an anti-fascist, and a promoter of a better balance of power in the Community) or Denis de Rougemont (who plead with passion for organizing unity through diversity, safeguarding national qualities).
Part II deals with the more recent dynamics of the process of integration that has brought the Union to its current state. The author underlines here the fact that the rather complex decision-making system governing the Union today is also the result of changes going on in society. The wishes of the Founding Fathers seem to get fulfilled, slowly but steadily, in specific areas. Networks of corporations, small and medium enterprises, interest groups…are emerging, making the project of economic cooperation a reality. Public opinion is indeed confronted with the problem of coordinating national identity with European unity; actually, by the end of the eighties, a majority (53%) of citizens believed that, in the context of global challenges, their national interests and their cultural identities were better defended through union. Political parties too made key contributions to the integration process, dealing more often with European issues, especially since the 1979 elections to the Parliament. The whole process appears irreversible.
Part III deals with the future. Do not get the wrong idea: this is not about astrology. It is about advocacy. "Dusan Sidjanski is a deeply committed federalist (…) He believes that only through the creation of a federation can Europe overcome the national and ethnic divisions that have caused such great catastrophes in the twentieth century". The comment belongs to Professor Harold Jacobson from the University of Michigan, who signed the foreword of this impressive book. Indeed, the last chapters strongly argue for the relevance of federalism in the contemporary world, generally speaking, and on the Old Continent as well as the New. Of course, there are probably a few other committed federalists in the world and on the Old Continent, including in Switzerland. Yet, to advocate for consciously imagining and building a stable federal system is quite meaningful here.
On the one hand, the very notion of federalism may be deceptive and ambiguous. It is tempting to equate unity with centralization, especially "big" and modern unity. Denis de Rougemont, Sidjanski writes , used to quote a famous definition of Littré's in 1865: "Federalism: (…) one of the political forms found among savages (…) During the Revolution, a plan attributed to the Girondins for breaking national unity and transforming France into a federation of small states (…) The Jacobins had serious discussions about federalism, and there was a furious reaction (…)" (p. 189). One cannot ignore potential similar "furious reactions" today, from people fearing, rightly or wrongly, a centralized and oppressive Union. Arguments about how the Union may work, without being oppressive, are then presented and analyzed by the author.
On the other hand, to advocate for federalism also means here to call for action. This is a serious challenge addressed to both committed Europeans and up-to-date political scientists. At some point, informed knowledge about what is has to lead to creative assertion of what ought to be. The history of what was called first the Common Market, then the European Community, then the European Union makes such a challenge exceptionally interesting. To sum up the case in a few words, the Founding Fathers first deliberately restricted the scope of their project to economic cooperation between former national enemies, but they hoped that more union should come in the future. The strategy was justified for obvious political reasons and proved successful for some time, as the Community enlarged. The process also captured the attention of political scientists, who coined expressions like "functional (or neofunctional) approach", or "spill over effect" to designate the expansive logic of integration, one sector making pressures that would "spill over" and force integration in other sectors. The merit of Dusan Sidjanski's thesis is to remind us that hopes do not substitute for action, and that social and economic mechanisms sometimes need political imagination and help in order to reach chosen goals.
On the whole, the weaknesses of the book are the reverse of its strengths. One may perceive fullness as too much information, and thus too many details sometimes overshadow the account of European integration. For instance, one may consider that too many pages deal with the Yugoslav crisis. Was it necessary to spend so much effort on a problem that arose outside the frontiers of the Union, when problems inside these frontiers are far from being resolved? And yet the Yugoslav story has a function here, if only to remind us that nationalist feelings still exist and are potentially destructive. Also, the obvious ambition of the book may appear troublesome to some readers. One simply cannot classify this work into a definite category. Is it a treatise on political integration? An essay on federalism? A political science account of the institutional balance and of the decision-making process characterizing the Union? A historical perspective on how and why the Union was built? Or perhaps an analyzis of empirical data? As a matter of fact, the book contains all these views and methods. Dusan Sidjanski deals with many approaches without seeming to be restrained by official scientific labels. This is sometimes considered a sin by professionals concerned with specialization. Readers committed to the European cause, however, will probably forgive the lack of concern for conventional limits.
Creative comments and contributions from committed Swiss federalists are most welcome on this topic.
Volume 39, no. 2 (also in the American Economic
Association's electronic
publications
Provides a history and analysis of the evolution of the European Union from a federal perspective and argues the case for a federal future for Europe, Translation of L'Avenir fédéraliste de l'Europe, published in 1992 and now revised, and expanded to take account of the many changes that, at the regional or global level, have had an impact on Europe's future. Discusses the roots of the European Union: the dynamics of European Community institutions; developments from the European Parliament's European Union Plan in 1984 to the Single European Act in 1987; the integration process; the decision-making process in the European Community and its evolution; the era of federalism; the Maastricht Treaty and the deepening of the European Community; the European Community on the way to political union; and new steps forward and new challenges. Sidjanski is Professor Emeritus in the Department of Political Science at the University of Geneva. Selected biography; index.
Canadian
Journal of Political Science Vol.
35, no 1
The Federal Future of Europe. From the European Community to the European Union.
Dusan Sidjanski
Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press, 2000, pp. xxv, 462
It is not easy to translate and update a succesfull French book into English and have it be equally well-received in the Anglo-Saxon academic community. Dusan Sidjanski's book is one of those ambitious projects that tries to do just that. The Federal Future of Europe was first published in French in 1992, and is now translated into English and a couple of chapters have been added to the original book. The book comes highly recommended by two prestigious persons: former European Commission President Jacques Delors and Professor Harold K. Jacobson. Each of them gives it considerable praise in their respective foreword. However, the book is unable to meet the high expectations gene, rated by them. Jacobson, for example, compares the book to Ernst Haas's The Uniting of Europe (Stanford: Stanford University Press 1968) and Andrew Moravcsik's The Choice for Europe (Ithaca: Cornell University Press, 1998) and suggests that The Federal Future of Europe will be equally important. To be fair to the author, the book is not nearly as ambitious, and frankly it is of a totally different nature.
This book aims at making a political statement that the future of Europe should be a federal one. At the outset (3) it makes a brief attempt to be analytically rigorous by pointing to four theoretical frameworks from which it has borrowed (federalism, neofunctionalism, systemic analysis and the communication approach), but it does not follow through on that route. In fact, apart from the introductory and concluding chapters, the book does not aim to be strongly analytical at all. In fact, the book follows more the French language tradition in that it provides the reader with backgroud information about the developments that let to today's Europe, while at the same time giving a political message about the importance of federalism for Europe.
The Federal Future of Europe provides the reader with detailes insights into the history of the European Community and the European Union, the various attempts to create a more politically oriented EC/EU and offers reflections on the challenges ahead. The latter are inspired in particular by the problems of nationalism and the events in ex-Yugoslavia, especially the civil war in Kosovo. The section on the latter is very interesting and informative. However, the author does not clearly explain how his analysis of the war in Kosovo lead him to conclude that a federal constitution is needed in Europe to ensure the continuation of a peaceful and tolerant Europe Union. Again, perhaps it is unfair to expect that from a book of this nature. Again, the book's strongest assets are its narrative, its political message and historical account, not so much its analytical rigour or its contribution to the theorizing of the broader European integration process.
Being translated and updated, the book suffers from considerable smaller mistakes. The proof-readers did not catch all the small differences between the English and the French wording, and besides those problems there are a number of other typos and imperfections throughout the book. Also, when updating, the choice was made to add a few new chapters and make some revisions to the exisiting chapters. Unfortunately, however, some chapters were not updated adequatly which has the effect that the reader at various points gets the impression that some were written considerably before the book's publication in 2000. For example, the book talks about the 12 currencies that make up the ecu since 1989 (231) without explaining that the ecu was eventually replaced by the euro, and that the euro has been introduced in financial markets since 1999 and that euro banknotes and coins would be circulating from 2002. The book subsequently discusses the euro in a "new chapter" towards the end of the book, but that does not take away the feeling that the earlier part of the book seems to be outdated.
Apart from these imperfections the book is a delight to read. This is not surprising. The author is exceptionally well-placed to write a book of this natuer. Born in Yugoslavia and having become a citizen of Switzerland, he clearly is a person who has reflected on his life's experiences in addition to his scholarly reading of the European integration process. Formerly at the University of Geneva, Sidjanski is now professor emeritus at the European University Institure of Florence. This book reads like his life's work and as such contains many invaluable insights.
All in all The Federal Future of Europe is a worthwhile contribution to the literature on European Federalism. It should be in scholarly libraries and read by anyone who has an interest in the European integration process.