In this essay on building Europe – shortly to be published – the authors (Henri Malosse of the European Economic and Social Committee and Laure Limousin of the Institut d’Études Politiques - IEP - of Paris) highlight the fundamental role played by civil society since the 1948 Hague Congress. Consumer protection, human rights, the fight to protect the environment, the emergence of women’s rights were already present in the early days of European history. The publication notes that in spite of being over fifty years old and in spite of all the progress made since 1958, the EU is far from being ‘finished’. The publication strives to open new paths and possibilities in order to give civil society its voice back in the European arena.

‘Histoire et avenir d’une Europe des peuples’, by Henri Malosse and Laure Limousin, Ed L’Harmattan, Paris, ISBN 978-2-296-96819-6, €26.50, www.harmattan.fr/groupeharmattan