Constitutional Politics in the European Union

DARIO CASTIGLIONE teaches Political Theory at the University of Exeter, UK. His publications comprise co-edited volumes on The Culture of Toleration in Diverse Societies (2003), Making European Citizens (2006), and The Language Question in Europe and Diverse Societies (2007). JUSTUS SCHNLAU is Honorary Research Fellow at the University of Exeter, UK. His publications include Drafting the EU Charter (2005), as well as articles on the Charter and Constitutional Conventions, on fundamental rights in the EU and European political parties in journals and edited volumes. CHRIS LONGMAN is Deputy Director of the Centre for European Studies at the University of Exeter, UK. He is co-editor of The Language Question in Europe and Diverse Societies (2007). EMANUELA LOMBARDO is Ramn y Cajal Researcher at the Complutense University, Madrid, Spain. She has published articles in numerous journals and collective volumes, and is the author of The Europeanisation of Spanish Gender Equality Policy (2004). NIEVES PREZ-SOLRZANO BORRAGN is Lecturer in European Politics in the Politics Department at the University of Bristol, Secretary of the University Association for Contemporary European Studies (UACES) and a member of the ESRC Centre for Competition Policy at the University of East Anglia, Norwich, UK. MIRIAM AZIZ is Associate Professor in European and Comparative Administrative Law at theUniversity of Siena, Italy. She has published numerous articles on European Law and is the author of The Impact of European Rights on National Legal Cultures (2004).

Introduction: A Convention without a Constitution? PART I: THE CONVENTION AS A MOMENT OF EU CONSTITUTIONAL POLITICS Constitutional Politics in the European Union Constitutional Moment or Constitutional Process? PART II: THE CONVENTION EXPERIMENT The Convention on the Future of Europe and its Antecedents Membership, Representation, and Accountability The 'Convention Method' PART III: THE CONVENTION AS A MIRROR OF EUROPEAN SOCIETY The Language Regime of the Convention Gender Equality in the Constitution-Making Process The Participation of Civil Society The Contribution of Business Interests The Debate on European Values PART IV: THE CONVENTION AND ITS AFTERMATH The Convention and the 'Living Law' of the European Union Conclusion: From the Convention to the Referendums and Beyond