The Rise And Fall Of The Eu S Constitutional Treaty

This book accounts for the content and negotiation of the EU's Constitutional Treaty of 2004 as well as the failure of ratification of the treaty in France and the Netherlands in 2005. It discusses the implications of the abandonment of the treaty for the process of European integration and our understanding of that process.

"The Draft European Constitution was arguably both an attempt to constitutionalise the Union, re-framing that project in the language of the state, and an attempt to stretch the boundaries of constitutionalism itself, re-imagining that concept to accommodate the sui generis European Union. The (partial) failure of this project is the subject of this collection of essays. The collection brings together leading EU constitutional scholars to consider, with the benefit of hindsight, the purportedly constitutional character of the proposed Constitutional Treaty, the reasons for its rejection by voters in France and the Netherlands, the ongoing implications of this episode for the European project, and the lessons it teaches us about what constitutionalism really means"--Bloomsbury Publishing.

The Draft European Constitution was arguably both an attempt to constitutionalise the Union, re-framing that project in the language of the state, and an attempt to stretch the boundaries of constitutionalism itself, re-imagining that concept to accommodate the sui generis European Union. The (partial) failure of this project is the subject of this collection of essays. The collection brings together leading EU constitutional scholars to consider, with the benefit of hindsight, the purportedly constitutional character of the proposed Constitutional Treaty, the reasons for its rejection by voters in France and the Netherlands, the ongoing implications of this episode for the European project, and the lessons it teaches us about what constitutionalism really means.

An analysis of the repeated existential crises affecting the resilience of the European Union in the twenty-first century.

Detailed and comprehensive analysis of how the Treaty of Lisbon emerged in 2007 this book explores the role played by the German Council Presidency and the EU's institutional actors in securing agreement among the leaders of member states on an intergovernmental conference as well as a new treaty text to replace the rejected Constitutional Treaty.

Investigates the struggle between governments, parliaments, the people and courts over who participates in EU treaty making.

This book takes a wide-ranging approach to tackle the complex question of the current state of constitutional democracy in the EU. It brings together a broad set of academics and practitioners with legal and political perspectives to focus on both topical and perennial issues concerning constitutional democracy (including safeguarding the rule of law and respect for fundamental rights) in theory and practice, primarily at EU level but also with due regard to national and global developments. This approach underlines that rather than a single problématique to be analysed and resolved, we are presently facing a kaleidoscopic spectrum of related challenges that influence each other in elusive, multifaceted ways. Critical Reflections on Constitutional Democracy in the European Union offers a rich analysis of the issues as well as concrete policy recommendations, which will appeal to scholars and practitioners, students and interested citizens alike. It provides a meaningful contribution to the array of existing scholarship and debate by proposing original elements of analysis, challenging often-made assumptions, destabilising settled understandings and proposing fundamental reforms. Overall, the collection injects a set of fresh critical perspectives on this fundamental issue that is as contemporary as it is eternal.

The implementation of the Lisbon Treaty is profoundly changing many areas of EU law and policy. This volume gathers leading specialists in the field to analyse the implementation process and the directions of legal reform post-Lisbon, situating the Lisbon reforms in the broader context of on-going policy programmes.