After 2004:
The Integration of the European Constitutional
Treaty into the National Constitutions

 
 
 
GROUP OF PROJECT (EL EQUIPO) Click here
THE SEMINAR 
EL SEMINARIO		 Click here
Pinche aquí
REPORTS
LOS RESULTADOS DE LA INVESTIGACIÓN		 In construction
Página en construcción
DATA BASE Click here
WEB SITE ()MAPA DEL SITIO In construction
 THE PROJECT
 EL PROYECTO Pinche aquí. Texto del proyecto en castellano.
Within the European Union a process of constitutional change has begun with the approval of the Charter of Human Rights and the Treaty of Nice, and it has been developing with enlargement and with the elaboration, in the Convention on the Future of the European Union, of a Constitutional treaty for Europe. These important changes occurring at the European Union level are bound to reverberate very strongly in the national constitutions of the EU member states, both present and future. This national constitutional dimension has so far been rather neglected in the European constitutional debate.
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The majority of the present Member States, although not all of them, have “European clauses” in their constitutions. These provisions establish the substantive and procedural conditions for the country’s membership of the European Union. Many of the existing European clauses were enacted, or revised, at the time of the Maastricht Treaty and have been the basis for the subsequent revisions of the European Treaties by the Treaty of Amsterdam and the Treaty of Nice. Questions arise as to (a) whether these clauses will be suitable for dealing with the much more ambitious treaty revision that is likely to result from the current European constitutional process;(b) what will be the long-term consequences of the enactment of a European constitution for therole and functioning of national constitutional system.
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These are not purely academic questions. In the aftermath of the adoption of the European constitutional treaty  that is planned to take place in 2004, the 25 member states will face important practical constitutional problems. In this context, three main issues stand out, that will be dealt with in the present research project:
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1. The procedural conditions for the ratification of the European treaties.
2. The substantive conditions for the ratification of the European treaties.
3. The impact of the new European constitution on national constitutional values and on the institutional architecture of the member states.
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The research project will have two main phases.
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First stage – Collection of legislation, judicial decisions, bibliography and other relevant documents (published on this website).
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The three directorsof the project, with the support of some junior scholars (research assistants) will undertake research about the constitutional questions raised by the participation to the European Union in each member state focusing in particular on recent developments. They will elaborate a data base for each country, that will address the following matters:
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- constitutional provisions
- legislation
- judicial decisions
- rules on referendum
- selection from scholarly literature
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Second stage – Workshop and publication of written contributions
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 In the second stage of the research, a group of  scholars from a  variety of European countries (including the new member states) will present ‘horizontal’ cross-country reports, using the research data assembled during the first stage. These reports will be discussed in a seminar, to be held in September 2004. Revised versions of the reports will be submitted by November 2004 for publication.
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Objectives
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The aims of this project are the following:
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a.- Analyze the constitutional framework of the member States  for the European Constitution ratification process.
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b.- Identify the formal and substantial problems that the said framework may pose to the ratification.
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c.- To contribute possible solutions in order to solve the identified problems.
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d.- To determine how and to what extent the Constitution may influence the constitutional structures of the member States.
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e.- Lastly, an indirect aim of the project would be to foster and support research work and teaching activities (specially at PhD level) whose object is to study and follow up the constitutionalization process, specially from domestic perspectives.