This book focuses on the negotiations of what are termed the eight constitutional IGCs. These eight include the negotiations of the 1950s and 1960s on: the European Coal and Steel Community the European Defence and Political Community the European Economic Community and European Atomic Energy Community the Fouchet Plan the Single European Act the Maastricht Treaty the Amsterdam Treaty the Nice Treaty The book challenges the neofunctionalist and liberal intergovernmentalist perspectives that have been used in the past to explain the process of IGCs. The author presents an alternative perspective in the form of an incremental model to explain the nature of negotiations at all eight constitutional IGCs. It is also argued that the increasing frequency of IGC negotiations signifies a gradual institutionalisation of the process to the point where the constitutional IGC is becoming a regular feature on the EU's political landscape. Governments are locked into a process of constitutional IGCs that leaves the primary legal document of the EU in a state of perpetual reform. In turn, it is argued that the incrementalism that defines the IGC negotiations shapes the entire process of European integration and the general nature of the European Union.

This book accounts for the content and negotiation of the EU's Constitutional Treaty of 2004 as well as the failure of ratification of the treaty in France and the Netherlands in 2005. It discusses the implications of the abandonment of the treaty for the process of European integration and our understanding of that process.

Modern constitutionalism as an idea and practice is facing great uncertainty in current times. Scholarly debates focus predominantly on constitutions beyond the state, while the predicament of domestic constitutionalism is much less considered. This volume contributes to a theoretically informed analysis of the key challenges and changes affecting domestic constitutionalism in Europe and beyond, departing from the idea of ‘constitutional acceleration’ or the increased propensity of different actors to engage in (formal) reform of the constitutional order. The volume points to a fundamental change in the function of constitutions in that constitutions themselves are increasingly subjects of political contestation rather than framing political debates. The collection of essays addresses a range of critical challenges – including societal acceleration, depoliticization, civic engagement, multi-faceted constituent power, modernization, populism and nationalism, and transnationalization. The volume includes a variety of disciplinary, and in some cases interdisciplinary, approaches, including (political) sociology, political science, constitutional law, and constitutional and legal theory, and will be of interest to researchers and students in any of these areas. Case studies focus on the EU and the wider European context, and include highly relevant but little known or ill-understood cases, such as the recent constitutional events in Iceland, Italy, or Romania, and cases of democratic reversal, such as Hungary, while also engaging with traditional but rapidly changing cases of constitutional interest, such as the UK.

Over half a century old and continuing to grow in strength and authority, the European Union consists of 25 member states_with more on the waiting list_and a population of 450 million people. Its influence in foreign and domestic affairs and human rights and law reaches far beyond its earlier fields of trade and politics. From the initial ideas about integration leading to the Treaty of Paris and the creation of the European Coal and Steel Community to the current reflection on the Treaty establishing a Constitution for Europe, The A to Z of the European Union encompasses the most basic elements of the EU and the components that have emerged as a result of them. Through the use of maps, photographs, a chronology, an introductory essay, a bibliography, and hundreds of cross-referenced dictionary entries on topics such as leaders, personalities, institutions, enlargements, member states, internal policies, external relations, basic theories, treaties, and law, this dictionary tells a clear and complete story about the European Union that will assist those with greater interest in understanding it.

Why have the national governments of EU member states successively endowed the European Parliament with supervisory, budgetary, and legislative powers over the past fifty years? Building Europe's Parliament sheds new light on this pivotal issue, and provides a major contribution to the study of the European Parliament. Rittberger develops a theory of delegation to representative institutions in international politics which combines elements of democratic theory and different strands of institutionalist theory. To test the plausibility of his theory, Rittberger draws on extensive archival material and offers theory-guided, in-depth case studies of three landmark decisions in the history of the European Parliament: the creation of the Common Assembly of the ECSC in 1951 and the concomitant acquisition of supervisory powers vis-à-vis the quasi-executive High Authority; the delegation of budgetary powers following the signing of the Treaty of Luxembourg in 1970; and the delegation of legislative powers resulting from the adoption of the Single European Act signed in 1986. This is followed by the charting of more recent key developments, culminating in the adoption of the Constitutional Treaty in 2004. The book provides a welcome addition to the literature on institutional design by reflecting on the conditions under which governments opt for the creation and empowerment of parliamentary institutions in international politics. It also makes a valuable contribution to the application of democratic theory to the study of the European Union by demonstrating that political elites shared the view that the new supranational polity which emerged from the debris of World War II suffered from 'democratic deficit' since its inception, thus disproving the claim that the lamented 'democratic deficit' is a recent phenomenon.

′This volume is one to which anyone trying to make sense of the EU of the early 21st century will return again and again. A terrific line-up that combines diverse talents from North America and Europe. Few books of this kind could live up to the billing ′definitive benchmark′, but this one certainly does′ - John Peterson, University of Edinburgh ′A most useful book that can be highly recommended. A strong analytical framework coupled with unparalleled coverage of the major issues of the political science research of the EU makes this volume a formidable tool for teaching and a significant input to new scholarly research. It is both relatively sophisticated and very accessible to graduate students and advanced researchers. The clear writing style and the richness of information presented will certainly make this book interesting for non-academic readers′ - Igor Vidacak, Institute for International Relations, Zagreb - Journal of Common Market Studies ′An admirably comprehensive source book for those interested in how the tools of political science inspire EU area studies. The editors enlist leading researchers to synthesize the state of the art in their field of expertise. The Handbook of European Union Politics will be an indispensable intellectual resource for researchers, teachers, and graduate students of the European Union′ - Liesbet Hooghe, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, USA ′Presents an excellent overview of political science research on the EU. It finds the right balance between establishing the state of the art and pointing the reader to theoretical diversity. Highly recommended for advanced students and scholars looking for quick and solid orientation in a fragmented field - and for new ideas for research′ - Frank Schimmelfennig, ETH Zurich, Switzerland ′This is a milestone in the study of EU politics. The authors include the most knowledgeable practitioners in the field, and collectively they provide a comprehensive and highly competent overview of the state of theory and research on EU institutions, politics and policies′ - Fritz Scharpf, Max Planck Institute for the Study of Societies, Germany The European Union (EU) poses quite profound questions for scholars and students of the social and political sciences. This benchmark handbook is designed to: - provide an authoritative state-of-the art guide to the scope of the field suitable for both established scholars and students of the EU - reflect and contribute to the debates about the nature of the field of EU studies and EU politics in particular - explore in detail the development of the many approaches to the study of EU politics. Divided into four sections, the Handbook focuses on theorizing European integration; the EU as polity; politics and policy making in the EU; and the EU and the international system. Its appeal will reside not only in its comprehensive and authoritative coverage of the field, but also in the quality of its contributors, and the diversity of theoretical and methodological approaches included. The resulting volume is a ′must have′ for all scholars and advanced students of the EU and European integration.

This collection analyses the place and the functioning of interparliamentary cooperation in the EU composite constitutional order, taking into account both the European and the national dimensions. The chapters join the recent scholarship on the role of parliaments in the EU after the Treaty of Lisbon.The aim of this volume is to highlight the constitutional significance of interparliamentary cooperation as a permanent feature of EU democracy and as a new parliamentary function as well as to investigate the practical side of this relatively new phenomenon. To this end the contributors are academics and parliamentary officials from all over Europe. The volume discusses the developments in interparliamentary cooperation and its implications for the organisation and procedures of national parliaments and the European Parliament, for the fragmented executive of the EU, and for the democratic legitimacy of the overall EU composite Constitution. These issues are examined by looking at the European legislative process, the European Semester and the Treaty revisions. Moreover, the contributions take into account the effects of interparliamentary cooperation on the internal structure of parliaments and analyse the different models of interparliamentary cooperation, ie from COSAC to the new Interparliamentary Conference on Stability, Economic Coordination and Governance in the European Union provided by the Fiscal Compact.

This book is based on contributions made to the WG Hart Workshop 2003. It contains articles by leading experts seeking to assess the state of development of EU law some fifty years after the establishment of the Communities and to contribute to the current debate on the European Constitution. The first volume concentrates on the themes of European Constitutionalism and EU external relations. It analyses the proposed Constitution dealing, among others, with the division of competence between the EU and the Member States, Community legislation, the role of national parliaments, democracy in the EU, human rights, and the Court of Justice. It also contains articles on EU external relations covering, among others, enlargement, the common foreign and security policy, immigration and asylum policy, and the relations between the EU and the WTO.

This volume examines the 'Convention on the Future of Europe' as a moment of European constitutional politics. It discusses the contested nature of constitutional politics in the EU, and how the Convention dealt with these issues. The book also assesses the Convention's aftermath.