ABSTRACT
The advent of the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union is one of the factors which is feeding the renewed debate about a constitution for Europe. For many, the Charter is the first, important element in a would-be European constitution. It is appropriate that fundamental rights (German preference) or human rights (French preference) should be at the centre of such constitutional discussion. But it is also appropriate that one does not allow the normative complexity of the trinity of human rights, constitutionalism and integration to be obscured by our enthusiasms for all three. This essay is meant, thus, to highlight some of the darker aspects of the ongoing debate.
