This interview is copyright-free for publication by your media.

Interview with Kjell Torbiörn, Head of the Secretariat of the Parliamentary Assembly’s Committee on Economic Affairs and Development and author of “DESTINATION EUROPE: the political and economic growth of a continent” (Manchester University Press, 2003).

Interview (13.12.2003)

Question: How did you come up with the idea of writing this book, which is now also available in the Council of Europe bookstore?

Kjell Torbiörn: I certainly would not have had the idea to write a book like this if I had not worked for the Council of Europe - nor would I have had the necessary perspective. The unique thing about the Council, whose ideals never cease to inspire me, is that its membership covers virtually all of Europe. Throughout my almost three decades of working for the Council I have always thought of Europe as being the entire continent, It is nothing less than fantastic that all Europe is now coming together, in a way unimaginable when I started working here back in the 1970s.

For several years I was waiting for someone to write a book that would take a global view of more recent European developments in the economic, political and security fields - including transatlantic relations - and also describe the various forces that are now shaping our future, such as demography, globalisation and terrorism. When that book failed to appear I started to feel I might have to be the one to write it. Since 1999 I revised, expanded and updated the manuscript almost a dozen times before publication.

Question: Where does your book fit in amongst the great number of books published on the subject of European affairs and how is it different?

Kjell Torbiörn: There are indeed a great number of books on Europe, but they very often tend to deal with narrower subjects exclusively, such as the European Union, as if Europe was confined only to that institution or region. I wanted to write a book in an accessible style that would make people understand all of Europe in one context and across different disciplines. Working for the Parliamentary Assembly certainly helped, and it is a great privilege, also in the sense that you work with parliamentarians of all political persuasions coming from all parts of Europe. So you ‘live’ Europe from morning to night in an absolutely unique way when you work for the Assembly. As far as orientation, the book is at the same time academic and meant for a much wider audience. It does not take a stand, but only tries to explain and interrelate. The cover - a puzzle forming the map of Europe - is meant to illustrate this.

Question: Are you happy with your final product?

Kjell Torbiörn: I think I am. Of course, there are imperfections, which would have been even more glaring if some colleagues in the Council and elsewhere had not been kind enough to look at the successive versions and made vital improvements with their unique knowledge in various fields. And I would like to update the book in due course to include new developments, such as the forthcoming EU constitutional treaty, where I could only account for the work of the preceding Convention due to the publication deadline. But, as we say in my native Sweden, every day has a heavy enough burden of its own, so that is for later.