About: constitution Archives

The EU is in urgent need of a new Treaty, argue Richard Baldwin and Mika Widgren in a June paper for the Centre for Economic Policy Research (CEPR) in London. The new Treaty simply must reform the current EU decision-making system, whatever other 'filler' items it may contain, the paper insists.

The French and Polish presidents have met in Paris to discuss institutional reform. But with the growing threat of a Polish veto on any change to the Council voting system, the upcoming summit is unlikely to bring the EU out of its institutional impasse.

It should be possible to reach an agreement over the stalled Constitutional Treaty at the June Summit if two sets of conditions are satisfied, write Sebastian Kurpas and Stefano Micossi in a May 2007 paper for the Centre for European Policy Studies (CEPS).

Prime Minister Tony Blair believes that no referendum on the Constitutional Treaty would need to be held in the UK if, instead of attempting revive the original wide-ranging Treaty, the members states now simply agreed on a series of amendments, writes Brendan Donnelly of the Federal Union.

As the German Presidency searches for a way out of the impasse over the Constitutional Treaty ahead of the June summit, European Policy Centre (EPC) analysts Sara Hageman and Antonio Missiroli examine the alternatives that have been suggested for moving forward. 

Representatives of the European Citizens Consultations project handed over the final report of their deliberations to Vice-President Margot Wallström and MEPs on 10 May. But will their hard work have any influence on EU leaders who are 'diplomatically' resurrecting the failed Constitution? 

The Berlin Declaration has set out a timeline for an institutional renewal of the EU by 2009. However, opinions differ as to what should be included in the new EU Treaty.

After the rejection of the EU Constitutional Treaty in France and the Netherlands in late spring 2005, a "period of reflection" on the future of Europe was launched to reconnect the citizens with the European project and to decide the fate of the Constitution. In January 2007, the German Presidency declared the reflection period was over, still its outcome is uncertain.  

The Berlin Declaration marking the EU's 50th anniversary will not directly mention enlargement or the European Constitution, in order to avoid potential disputes between member states.

The German Presidency is seeking a consensus for Berlin Declaration, which will mark the Union’s 50th anniversary on 25 March 2007. But views differ on what it should include.

Writing for the Fondation Robert Schuman, Pierre Lequiller, president of the French parliament's EU delegation, proposes a new EU Treaty to help Europe overcome its current crisis.

Writer and commentator on European affairs Kirsty Hughes and Jose Ignacio Torreblanca, senior analyst at the Elcano Institute in Madrid argue in this article, that the EU should move on following the institutional impasse and regain political confidence.

Klaus Klipp and Pascal Goergen, in an article for the Assembly of European Regions, argue that the Constitution must be salvaged and that the Parliament and German EU Presidency have central roles to play.

On 15 December 2006, European leaders opted for a stricter application of membership criteria as Turkey talks are partially suspended.

Inspired by a provision in the stalled Constitutional Treaty, civil-society groups have called on the EU to give legal force to citizen’s initiatives.

Andrew Moravcsik, in an article published in Politische Vierteljahresschrift, argues that the failure of the constitution is paradoxically evidence of the success of the existing Treaties.

This strategy paper, discusssing Europe’s future, was presented at the “International Bertelsmann Forum” (IBF), a conference attended by several EU leaders in September 2006.

This study is published by Barbara Lippert and Timo Goosmann of the Institut für Europäische Politik (IEP) in Berlin within the framework of EU-CONSENT, a “Network of Excellence”.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel promised President Barroso to break the deadlock on the EU's failed constitution when both leaders met in Berlin on 11 October.

A Centre for European Policy Studies(CEPS) paper argues that the term “absorption capacity” should be dropped, as it gives a pseudo-scientific impression unless defined and deconstructed into more precise and objective elements.

Speaking at an international forum, German Chancellor Angela Merkel presented her vision of a future-EU based on common values.

According to a survey, most EU citizens expect an EU Constitution and more than 27 Member States by 2020, but doubt that Ukraine and Turkey will be members by then.

In a press conference on 19 September 2006, German socialist MEP Jo Leinen urged that the Constitution be ratified as soon as possible.

At meetings in Brussels on 7-8 September, French presidential candidate-hopeful Nicolas Sarkozy offered his European credentials, presenting a "Mini-Treaty" as a way out of the constitutional impasse.