This paper puts forward the main elements of the theory of constitutional synthesis as a constitutional theory of European integration. Constitutional synthesis is both a political philosophy of European integration (which dilucidates what kind of polity the Union is an what is its basis of...

This paper puts forward the main elements of the theory of constitutional synthesis as a constitutional theory of European integration. Constitutional synthesis is both a political philosophy of European integration (which dilucidates what kind of polity the Union is an what is its basis of...

After consecutive treaty amendments during the 1990s, the EU looks set for a conclusive revision through the process embodied by the Convention. Is the EU approaching what Joscka Fischer has coined the finality of European integration? This paper discusses the prelimininary results as well as...

Laeken has ushered in the first continent-wide debate, on the issue of a European constitution. An important question is whether this amounts to Europe’s constitutional moment in a critical normative sense. To address this we first distil out five core lessons from the Laeken experience. This...

The European Union is presently at a major crossroads. The Laeken process which launched the EU onto an explicit constitution-making process, has ground to a halt after the negative referendum results in France and the Netherlands. The European Council at its 16-17 June 2005 meeting decided to...

It is a commonplace to argue that democracies require constitutional rules in order to function well; in particular, such rules facilitate conflict resolution and secure a civilized co-existence. Democratic governance signifies an ability to purposefully shape political and social life;...

The negative referendum results in France and the Netherlands have been construed as signs of a deep gap between the European Union’s leaders and its people(s). Treaty-making/change in the European Union has historically been conducted through an intergovernmental, executive-style approach,...

What kind of democracy does the EU require and what model of deliberative democracy can account for post-national legitimacy? The author contends that democracy can only prevail with egalitarian procedures of law making in place through which the citizens can influence the laws that affect them....

The debate about the European Constitution has generated a considerable degree of media attention over the last years. This article takes a bird’s eye view on the whole process aiming for an understanding of how the dynamics of public debate changed when the baton was passed from the...

The Constitutional Treaty of the European Union cannot be said to be a Constitution in the same sense that the term is generally used in most European countries. It is not a Constitution in the same sense that the German, Italian or Czech constitutions. This is mainly so because neither the...