ABSTRACT

This book provides an in-depth guide to researchers and practitioners who are interested in analysing the evolution of EU law from a national and comparative constitutional law perspective. The volume deals with questions of how EU member states’ constitutional systems, including the subnational tier, interact with the supranational level. It maps the evolution over time of constitutional strategies in the face of multi-level governance and individual contextual factors on an empirical basis. The volume comprises 12 national reports written by leading experts in constitutional and EU law, and in political science. The countries discussed include the six founding member states, together with a selection of member states in which a clear-cut evolution in the national constitutional approach towards the EU can be observed. These comprise the Czech Republic, Denmark, Hungary, Poland, Portugal, and the United Kingdom. The latter is included as an “extreme” case in which the change in constitutional strategy over time has resulted in withdrawing from the Union altogether. Taken together, the book assembles the building blocks of an explanatory theory of constitutional strategies in the face of multi-level governance. The volume will be of interest to students and researchers in comparative constitutional law, political science, and multidisciplinary EU studies. It will also be a valuable resource for policy-makers.

chapter |10 pages

Introduction

Constitutional dynamics of multi-level governance: indicators and hypotheses

chapter 1|22 pages

Belgium

A constitutional strategy in support of European integration – with some potential pitfalls

chapter 2|21 pages

France

From progressive acceptance to recent tension

chapter 3|32 pages

Germany

Basic Law and European integration – open but defensive statehood despite a constitutional obligation to EU integration

chapter 4|23 pages

Italy

The long-term consequences of an “efficiency” constitutional strategy in the face of multi-level governance

chapter 5|21 pages

Luxembourg

An EU-supportive constitutional system (still) in evolution

chapter 6|18 pages

The Netherlands

A political commitment to Europe in a pragmatic constitutional culture

chapter 7|24 pages

The United Kingdom

The constitutional consequences of ambivalence towards European integration

chapter 8|18 pages

Denmark

Revisiting the opt-outs in Denmark: a renewed focus on EU integration

chapter 9|22 pages

Portugal

A European Union-friendly jurisdiction

chapter 10|19 pages

Czech Republic

The tale of two and a half presidents: identifying the key discursive struggles that shaped Czech integration

chapter 11|23 pages

Hungary

From a friend to a foe?

chapter 12|25 pages

Poland

From cautious EU-friendliness to illiberal Euroscepticism

chapter |14 pages

Conclusions

Building the founding blocks of a new bottom-up constitutional theory of EU integration