The European Union between democratic constitutionalism and governance.

Authors

  • AGUSTÍN JOSÉ MENÉNDEZ

Keywords:

constitutional synthesis, governance, Lisbon Treaty, Laeken, Constitutional Treaty.

Abstract

This paper highlights the reasons why the legal consequences as well as the political significance of the Constitutional Treaty and the Treaty of Lisbon will be necessarily different from each other, despite the fact that they are essentially similar documents. In order to explain how this is possible the relation between the drafting process and the constitutional substance of both documents is analysed in some depth. The thesis is that the Laeken process was founded on a synthetic constitutional theory, which explains the European Union’s nature as an alternative to the traditional international and constitutional views, whereas the Lisbon process was underpinned by an understanding of the integration process as a way to solve efficiently pragmatic problems resorting to unorthodox tools and devices (governance). The author considers some powerful normative reasons in favour of a constitutional transformation of the Union.

Published

2010-10-01

Issue

Section

ARTICLES