ABSTRACT
These questions will be addressed in this chapter, although, by virtue of the nature of the questions, my objective is to provide lasting analysis rather than immediate solutions to the questions posed. The Convention on the Future of Europe was always liable to provide only interim solutions. This is not a criticism, but rather an acknowledgement of the ambulatory nature of EU constitutional development. The ‘Constitutional Treaty’ that emerged from the Convention
4 Schmitter, ‘Imagining the Future of the Euro-polity’, p. 149. 5 See essay ‘Does the European Union Represent an n of 1?’, ECSA Review (US), Vol. X,
No. 3 (Fall 1997), pp. 1-5. In this contribution, J.A. Caporaso, G. Marks, A. Moravcsik and M.A. Pollack tackle the debate over whether or not the EU is a unique case, and whether it matters. Caporaso remarks that: ‘to say that the EC is unique is simply a shorthand for saying that we have not yet developed the categories, abstract enough to see the EC as an instance of a more general class of phenomena.’ Reaching a similar conclusion, Marks sides with first and second generation EU scholars, Deutsch, Hass and Schmitter who conceived of EI as ‘part of a larger universe of integrative processes in other parts of the world. Moravcsik observes that ‘the n=1 problem is not unique to the EU; it is a foundational characteristic of social science’, while Pollack agreed it is not a problem because EU research is both capable of being generalised and its
recognises the continuing role of national governments as the masters of the treaties.6 The treaty remains within the domain of élite decision-making,7 and, as such, does not represent a break with the past. It is not, however, inconsequential. The Constitutional Treaty makes some important changes to institutional structures and processes of decision-making in response to enlargement, such as increasing qualified majority voting. It incorporates the Charter of Fundamental Rights and makes the rights contained therein justiciable before the ECJ. It vests legal personality on the EU. It embeds the principle of primacy of EU law over the law of the Member States, within the limits of competences conferred on the EU, the use of such competences to be governed by the principles of subsidiarity and proportionality. Notwithstanding its vital functions of streamlining institutions and decision-making, the Constitutional Treaty is arguably more significant for its symbolism than its substantive advances. It declares to citizens and to the world that the EU is maintaining its momentum and its relevance. Moreover, a constitutional treaty can create a political space for citizens and thereby be transformed into a true constitution.
