Publication

The European Constitution has suffered a tremendous setback. The summit in Brussels on 12-13 December 2003 showed a growing European Union at odds with itself, unable to seize a historic moment and put national interests aside. Although the substantial institutional and procedural progress contained in the Convention’s draft have by no means been dropped from negotiations, these advances will remain unrealized for the moment. One immediate consequence is that considerable uncertainty has arisen about whether the Union’s treaty-based foundation has the strength and resilience to carry the enlarged EU forward, if the constitution-making process should ultimately fail. What does it mean for an EU of 25 or more members if Europe does not enact a new constitutional order and must carry on with the Treaty of Nice?