ABSTRACT
The European constitution was rejected in France and the Netherlands in 2005; as a result, the ratification process was stopped. Does the fact that Europe’s citizens decided against the proposed constitution imply that Europe remains without a constitution of any kind? Certainly not. For a long time, Europe has had a constitution which has consisted of the European Treaties (Rome, Maastricht, Amsterdam and Nice). Historically, it is not unusual for international treaties to turn into constitutions; just think of the American Constitution of 1787-1788 or the Constitution of the German Reich of 1871. The inter-state treaties of the American Confederation of 1781 and of the German Bund of 1816 were also confederal constitutions in character.1
