ABSTRACT
The Dutch and the French ‘no’ on the ratification of a Constitution for Europe is arguably one of the most significant ‘constitutional moments’ in the history of the European Union.2 This is so, not only because they refer to a text for a proposed constitution for Europe, but also because they allow, if not oblige, us to rethink certain foundations of European constitutional theory. The ‘no’ has opened up a space of negation and questioning, which can no longer be ignored. It brings forth a fundamental shake up of the connection between the constitution and its demos, the text and its context, and the relation between law and politics. Whatever happens now, one thing is certain: Europe has irreversibly entered its ‘constitutional moment’ and is facing a space where the absence of certainty is embarrassingly obvious. The future of a European project, of a finalit and of integration has now been put into doubt. If European constitutionalism is to develop in a manner representative of the plural explosion of the European political sphere, it cannot afford to ignore this questioning.
