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European Union Constitution

Where do they go from here?. European Union Constitution. Decades of War. Franco-Prussian War WWI WWII. Verdun. Maybe this . . . . . . at least this much. Brief History of the EU. 1951, Treaty of Paris): European Coal and Steel Community (Community I)

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European Union Constitution

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  1. Where do they go from here? European Union Constitution

  2. Decades of War • Franco-Prussian War • WWI • WWII

  3. Verdun

  4. Maybe this . . .

  5. . . . at least this much

  6. Brief History of the EU • 1951, Treaty of Paris): European Coal and Steel Community (Community I) Belgium, West Germany, Luxemburg, France, Italy, Netherlands • 1957: Euratom (Community II), EEC (Community III) • 1967: Communities I, II, III merge; establishment of EU Commission, Council of Ministers • 1972: Direct elections to parliament

  7. Brief History (cont’d) • 1973: Denmark, Ireland, UK join • 1981: Greece joins • 1985: Schengen Agreement (excl. UK, Rep of Ireland; incl. Iceland, Norway, Switzerland)

  8. Brief History (cont’d) • 1986: Spain & Portugal join • 1995: Austria, Finland, Sweden join • 2002: EURO introduction

  9. Brief History (cont’d) • 2004: Cyprus, Malta, Estonia, Lithuania, Latvia, Czech Republic, Slovakia, Slovenia, Hungary, Poland (now 454 million EU citizens) • 2007: Bulgaria & Romania • Future: Croatia, Turkey (?)

  10. Brief History (cont’d) • 1952 European Defense Community; rejected in 1954 by France • 1961 UK applies for EU membership under Harold McMillan; vetoed by France in 1963 • France & NATO

  11. Those French…they’re hard to figure

  12. Brief History (cont’d) • 2002-3 Constitutional Convention in Brussels • 2004 Constitution (Constitutional Treaty) signed by heads of gov’t in Rome (Treaty of Rome)

  13. Brief History (cont’d) • May 29, 2005: France rejects proposed constitution 45.1% NO v. 24.2% YES • June 1, 2005: Netherlands rejects proposed constitution 38.5% NO v. 24.3% YES

  14. The mood in Europe in June…

  15. Who Has Approved the Constitution? • Austria, Belgium, Cyprus, • Estonia, Germany, Greece, • Hungary, Italy, Latvia, • Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, • Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain (15)

  16. Who Has Yet to Vote? • Who has yet to vote? Denmark, Sweden, Finland, Czech Republic • Portugal, Republic of Ireland, UK, Poland (8)

  17. Important Question: • Who approves by referendum? • Who approves by parliament alone?

  18. Constitutional ConventionBrussels, 2002-3 • Valery Giscard D’estaing, Thomas Jefferson & Benjamin Franklin • Federalist Papers? (ct. Gordon Brown who reportedly takes the Fed Papers on vacation.) • Your citizens “will one day build statues of you on horseback in the villages you all come from.” • Convention ended with draft but no agreements • No statues yet

  19. Why a Constitution for Europe? • Coherence out of patchwork of treaties • Overcome “democratic deficit”

  20. Why a Constitution (cont’d)? • Improvements: Parliament, QMV, Commission • More towards a “super-state”: foreign policy, presidency of Council of Ministers, “legal personality”

  21. EU Commission

  22. EU Parliament

  23. Comparison: EU v. US Constitutions • 60,000+ words v 4543 words • Elegance? EU hardly looks like a traditional constitution • View of human nature (cf. Fed. Paper #10) • View of power (cf. Fed. Paper #51); comparative absence of separation of powers, checks and balances

  24. Comparison (cont’d) • Bill of Rights: U.S.: limited EU: expansive

  25. Comparison (cont’d) • Institutional comparison: EU hardly looks like a traditional government: U.S.: Executive, Legislative, Judicial + Bureaucracy EU: EU Commission, Council of Ministers, Parliament, Court of Justice

  26. Why did the EU Constitution Fail? Why Might it Fail? • Politics • Nationalism e.g. France, Netherlands, UK, Denmark, Poland • Fundamental Issues “Papered Over” e.g. foreign policy, nature of the European welfare state v. market economy, view of U.S., role of France & Germany, agricultural subsidies

  27. Failure? (cont’d) • No common culture (e.g. religion) • No proper debate, not understood by average citizen (not even read by average citizen) • Sense of arrogance & condescension

  28. Contemplating the Future

  29. Future? • Approval by sleight of hand (but the “game may be up”) Cf. 1992 Denmark and Treaty of Maastricht; 2002 Ireland and Treaty of Nice • Total rejection If so, this may mean “Europe” goes no farther

  30. Future (cont’d) • Partial approval, either in “slim-downed version” or as a result of “cherry picking” • Postponement • Should be considered in light of other European trends: Immigration, esp. Islamic Economic stagnation

  31. Dusk or Dawn in Europe?

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