November 26, 2007
Book review: Life of a European mandarin
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Derk-Jan Eppink, a Dutch civil servant, has done something unique. He has written a genuinely entertaining book about the European Commission.
Of course, there is no shortage of books about the commission and the workings of the Brussels bureaucracy. But most of them are horribly dull. They are written by academics and aimed at other academics, or students or would-be eurocrats. Nobody would consider reading them for pleasure.
Eppink’s work is different for three reasons. First, he was a journalist before he was a civil servant: he can tell a story and has an eye for anecdotes. Second, although he thinks that the European Union is definitely a force for good, he does not have a religious belief in "the project". As a result, he is able to ask awkward - and important - questions about the future of the EU. Last but not least, he has a sense of humour.
Eppink can take something that sounds very dull - a discussion with a French trade unionist about the EU’s postal-services directive, for example - and turn it into an amusing story that tells you something important about how the EU operates. (In this case, that French trade unionists are a powerful and stubborn force working against economic liberalisation.)
You can read the remainder of this review here, and post a comment below.
