Constitutionalizing the European Union

by Christiansen, Thomas; Reh, Christine

• ISBN13: 9781403932501
• ISBN10: 1403932506
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2009-05-15
• Publisher: Red Globe Pr

Summary

This important new text outlines the evolution and main themes of constitutional debate in the EU; the role of key institutions, notably the Intergovernmental Conferences and the European Court of Justice and the impact of the Convention method and of the constitutional text emerging from it.

Author Biography

Thomas Christiansen is Jean Monnet Lecturer and Director of the Jean Monnet Centre, University of Wales, Aberystwyth and Professor of the College of Europe in Bruges.Christine Reh is Academic Assistant in the Department of Politics at the College of Europe.

Table of Contents

List of Figures and Tables	p. viii
Preface	p. ix
List of Abbreviations	p. xi
Introduction: The Constitutionalization of Europe	p. 1
Constitutionalization, treaty reform and constitutional politics in Europe	p. 3
Constitutionalization as process: aspects and implications	p. 8
Constitutionalizing Europe: the academic background	p. 13
Plan of the book	p. 20
Of Rights and Duties: Does Europe have a Constitution?	p. 23
What's in a constitution? Introducing the conceptual debate	p. 24
Beyond a 'thin' constitution: the Treaties' formal functions	p. 29
Constitutional substance: more than a treaty . . .	p. 36
. . . but no 'thick' constitution yet?	p. 42
Conclusion	p. 50
Constitutionalizing the European Union: Politics, Law and Discourse	p. 51
From ECSC to EU and beyond: the political process	p. 52
'Integration through law'	p. 61
Europe's constitutional discourse	p. 69
Conclusion	p. 80
The Role of Actors in EU Treaty Reform	p. 83
Aspects of actorness in EU reform: an introduction	p. 84
National preferences: the representation of member states	p. 90
Supranational actors: the role of EU institutions	p. 101
Non-state actors: the role of 'big business' and civil society	p. 116
Conclusion	p. 118
Patterns of Structure in EU Treaty Reform	p. 120
Aspects of structure in EU reform: an introduction	p. 121
The legal-institutional context	p. 123
The ideational-discursive context	p. 132
The temporal-political context	p. 138
Conclusion	p. 143
Agenda-Setting in Intergovernmental Conferences	p. 145
Agenda-setting and framing: an introduction	p. 146
The past and the public: opportunities and constraints	p. 149
Agenda-setting by national governments	p. 157
Supranational institutions and interest groups as agenda-entrepreneurs	p. 165
Conclusion	p. 174
Decision-Making in Intergovernmental Conferences	p. 176
Studying international negotiations: an introduction	p. 177
The multiple levels of Intergovernmental Conferences	p. 181
Conducting IGCs: from launch to endgame	p. 187
Crafting agreement: negotiation dynamics and strategies	p. 195
Conclusion	p. 201
The Follow-Up to Intergovernmental Conferences	p. 204
Different modes of treaty ratification	p. 205
The role of the European institutions in the ratification process	p. 221
Conclusion	p. 223
The 'Rise' and 'Fall' of Explicit Constitutionalization	p. 229
Post-Nice: towards explicit constitutionalization	p. 230
Drafting a 'Constitution for Europe'	p. 241
Life after the 'European Constitution': the return to implicit constitutionalization	p. 250
Conclusion	p. 260
Conclusion: Constitutionalization beyond Lisbon	p. 261
Constitutionalizing the European Union: how did we get here?	p. 262
Constitutionalizing the European Union: where do we go from here?	p. 266
Appendix: Overview of the Ratification Procedures in the Member States	p. 274
Bibliography	p. 282
Key to interviews	p. 282
Primary and secondary sources	p. 283
Index	p. 304
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