Description
Book SynopsisThis new volume presents a wealth of fresh data documenting and analyzing the different positions taken by governments in the development of the European Constitution.
It examines how such decisions have substantial effects on the sovereignty of nation states and on the lives of citizens, independent of the ratification of a constitution. Few efforts have been made to document constitution building in a systematic and comparative manner, including the different steps and stages of this process. This book examines European Constitution-building by tracing the two-level policy formation process from the draft proposal of the European Convention until the Intergovernmental Conference, which finally adopted the document on the Constitution in June 2004. Following a tight comparative framework, it sheds light on reactions to the proposed constitution in the domestic arena of all the actors involved. It includes a chapter on each of the original ten member states and
Table of Contents
Introduction 1. The European Convention and the Rome and Brussels IGCs: A Veto Players Analysis 2. The European Convention: Consensus without Unity? 3. The Coordination of Austria’s National Position regarding the Constitution 4. Belgium, the Convention and the IGC: Consensus and Coalition Politics 5. Cyprus: Under the Shadow of the Inter-Communal Conflict 6. The Czech Republic: Sitting on the Fence 7. Denmark: The Nordic Model as an Effort to Bridge Elite Euro-Optimism and Popular Euro-Skepticism 8. Estonia: A Single Voice in Europe’s Intergovernmental Bargaining 9. Finland: Centralized Consensus on EU Constitution Building 10. France: The President takes all 11. Germany: The Promoter of European Integration? 12. Greece: Overcoming Negative Stereotyping 13. Hungary: United in Support, Divided by Borders 14. Ireland: Pragmatism and the EU Constitution 15. Italy: The Presidency at Work? 16. Latvia and the EU Constitution: A Pragmatic 'Yes' 17. Lithuania: A Priority for Europe 18. Luxembourg, the Convention and the IGC: Consensus and Concern for Its Economy 19. Malta: the Importance of Being Unimportant 20. Domestic Preference Formation in the Netherlands on the European Constitution 21. Poland: the Struggle for Nice 22. Portugal: in Quest for a New Role 23. Slovakia: Avoiding Conflict to Secure Stability 24. Position Taking and Coordination Processes of the Government of the Republic of Slovenia 25. Preference Formation and European Constitution-Building: The Spanish Perspective 26. The 'Third Way' of Sweden Towards the European Constitution: Promoting Social Policies and Safeguarding Neutrality 27. Position Taking and Coordination Processes of the Government of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland 28. The Commission, the Convention and the IGC: Consensus and Concern for Its Role 29. Position Taking and Coordination Processes of the European Parliament 30. Conclusion
