The European Union is currently in the midst of a comprehensive process of reform and the aim of this book is to address the challenge of forging a legitimate Constitution for the EU. These authors clarify the constitutional status of the EU, to take stock of the European Charter of Fundamental Rights and Convention of the Future of Europe as vehicles to foster and create a European constitution.
Author(s): Erik Eriksen
Edition: 1
Year: 2004
Language: English
Pages: 304
Book Cover......Page 1
Half-Title......Page 2
Title......Page 4
Copyright......Page 5
Contents......Page 6
Tables......Page 8
Contributors......Page 9
Acknowledgements......Page 12
Prologue......Page 13
Introduction......Page 19
A re-invigorated European Union......Page 20
Does Europe need a constitution?......Page 21
The challenge of democracy......Page 24
Chartering Europe......Page 26
A Constitutional Convention?......Page 28
On constitutionalizing Europe......Page 30
Notes......Page 33
Part I Why a constitution?......Page 34
2 Why Europe needs a constitution......Page 35
An ever-closer Union?......Page 36
Beyond a ‘mere market’......Page 37
Globalization and social solidarity......Page 38
Normative appeals......Page 40
Positive coordination......Page 41
Civic nations......Page 43
Creating a public sphere......Page 44
Sharing a political culture......Page 46
Designing a framework......Page 48
The politics of unification......Page 49
Notes......Page 51
3 The EU and the right to self-government......Page 52
The democratic deficit......Page 53
A citizens’ based polity......Page 56
Direct legitimacy......Page 58
Predictability and security......Page 59
A political document......Page 60
Congruence and accountability......Page 61
Rights and democracy......Page 62
The hub of rights......Page 63
Democratic requirements......Page 65
Constitutional authorship......Page 66
The right to self-government......Page 67
Substance or procedure?......Page 68
The legitimacy of the constitution......Page 71
Constitutionalizing post-national democracy......Page 72
Conclusion......Page 74
Notes......Page 75
Introduction: Mirror, mirror on the wall—who is the most beautiful of all?......Page 77
Constitutional patriotism: the last refuge of the scoundrel?......Page 79
The Charter and the judicial protection of fundamental human rights......Page 82
Human rights and integration......Page 85
Note......Page 87
The legal form of the Community as a topic for reform......Page 88
The concept of constitution......Page 89
The constitutional nature of the Treaties......Page 91
The so-called ‘democratic deficit’......Page 94
Requirements of European democracy......Page 97
Structure and tasks of society......Page 100
Legal foundation of the Community......Page 103
The current plans for reform (1996)......Page 105
Notes......Page 106
Three ideas of constitutionalism......Page 108
Constitutional evolution in Europe: planned and unplanned change......Page 112
The democratic deficit of supranationalism......Page 114
Deliberative democracy......Page 116
State sovereignty, popular sovereignty and the internal contradiction of European constitutionalism......Page 119
A unique evolutionary advance......Page 121
The coming constitution—a revolutionary perspective?......Page 122
Notes......Page 124
Part II Can it be made?......Page 127
Introduction......Page 128
The formal conception of the constitution......Page 129
The material conception of the constitution......Page 130
The normative conception of the constitution......Page 131
Does the European Union already have a constitution? If so, in what sense?......Page 135
The structural material constitution......Page 136
FUNDAMENTAL RIGHTS AS A GENERAL PRINCIPLE OF COMMUNITY LAW......Page 138
Does the European Union have a formal constitution?......Page 139
Does the European Union have a normative constitution?......Page 140
Some rationales for a European constitution......Page 141
Conclusion......Page 143
Notes......Page 144
Constitution: meaning and institution......Page 149
Foundation of a new political order......Page 150
Normativity, supremacy and the written form of the constitution......Page 151
To shape the powers: constitution as juridification of politics......Page 152
Limiting powers by legalization of government......Page 153
Result......Page 154
The traditions correlated: constitution as coupling of politics and law......Page 155
Three constitutional assessment standards for European institutions......Page 156
The contribution of jurisprudence to constitutional theory......Page 157
Notes......Page 158
Introduction......Page 160
The hidden normativity of classical legal positivism......Page 162
Positivistic alternatives to democratic constitutionalism......Page 164
John Austin’s analytical jurisprudence......Page 166
Mainstream German public law in the twentieth century......Page 167
Twentieth-century positivism......Page 169
The pluralistic turn of sovereignty: Santi Romano......Page 170
The logical turn of the material constitution: Stahl and Kelsen......Page 171
The public law debate in Weimar......Page 172
The grounds of contemporary European constitutionalism......Page 175
Conclusions: towards a European constitution......Page 179
Notes......Page 181
Introduction......Page 182
Legal self-narratives......Page 184
Explanations......Page 185
Ordo-liberal economic constitution theory: Europe as ‘market without state’......Page 186
Factual developments......Page 187
‘Re-regulation’ instead of ‘de-regulation’......Page 188
Europe as regulatory ‘state’......Page 189
RESTRICTIONS ON ‘VERTICAL’ CONSTITUTIONALIZATION......Page 190
BACK TO THE NATION-STATE......Page 191
THE ‘MASTERS OF THE TREATIES’ AS ‘STATES WITHOUT MARKETS’: A PYRRHIC VICTORY OF GERMAN ORDO-LIBERALISM......Page 192
Constitutionalization of governance in the European multi-level system......Page 193
Governance as the key concept of the European polity?......Page 194
Back to the Community method?......Page 195
Perspectives for constitutionalizing the European multi-level system......Page 196
COMPETENCE CONFLICTS AND ‘DIAGONAL’ DISPUTE SITUATIONS......Page 197
Conclusion......Page 198
Notes......Page 199
Part III How can it be made?......Page 201
Introduction......Page 202
The construction of a constitutional self-mandate......Page 203
Composition of the Convention: representation and legitimacy......Page 207
Two-level representation: national and European......Page 208
Representativeness......Page 211
The ambiguous nature of the Convention......Page 214
Working Groups......Page 215
The Secretariat......Page 216
The Group of Experts and Discussion Circles......Page 217
The Convention as an ‘embedded diplomatic conference’......Page 218
The Convention as a constitutional assembly......Page 221
Concluding remarks......Page 223
Notes......Page 224
12 Deliberation or bargaining?......Page 227
Why a Convention?......Page 228
The context......Page 229
An ambiguous agreement......Page 230
Setting the rules of deliberation......Page 233
The de-legitimization of ‘situated interests’......Page 236
The restriction of the discursive register......Page 237
The absence of rigid and stable structures......Page 239
Conclusion......Page 240
Notes......Page 242
Introduction......Page 247
Deep diversity and constitutional patriotism......Page 248
Deep diversity......Page 249
The present-day EU—a Union of deep diversity?......Page 250
Constitutional patriotism......Page 252
The Convention’s work and results: an assessment......Page 254
A democratic Union, a Christian Union or a European Union of nations?......Page 255
Chartered Citizenship—European or differentiated?......Page 258
Representative or audit democracy?......Page 259
Institutional coherence versus institutional diversity?......Page 262
Constitutional amendment or treaty change?......Page 264
Conclusion......Page 266
Notes......Page 267
Bibliography......Page 270
Official documents......Page 289
Index......Page 293
