Introduction

The European Union, the Laeken Declaration asserted, is presently at a crossroads. It is faced with the imminent challenge of enlargement, so as to unify a continent split by two World Wars and the Cold War. The institutional apparatus deemed necessary for this was not put in place with the treaty amendments introduced by the Treaty of Nice, signed in 2000. Further changes were needed. The EU has thus embarked on another round of comprehensive reform, with the result still undecided.