The Convention on the future of the European Union has been heralded by many as a unique political setting. So far the process of EU Treaty change was subject to the collision of national political interests in Intergovernmental Conferences. By contrast, the Convention appears to promise a fundamentally open and normatively informed arena. This article probes the validity of this promise by dissecting the political dynamics of the Convention along three dimensions: political behaviour and alliance formation; agenda management; and the norms informing its proceedings.
Get full access to this article
View all access options for this article.
References
1.
ClosaC. (2003), ‘Improving EU Constitutional Politics? A Preliminary Assessment of the Convention’, Constitutionalism Web-Paper (ConWEB) No. 1, University of Manchester.
2.
CrumB. (2003), ‘Legislative-executive Relations in the European Union’, Journal of Common Market Studies41(3), pp. 375–395.
3.
ElsterJ. (1998), ‘Deliberation and Constitution Making’ in ElsterJ. (ed.), Deliberative Democracy, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, pp. 97–122.
4.
European Council (2001), ‘The Future of the EU: Declaration of Laeken’, 15 December (SN 273/01).
5.
European Council (2003), ‘Presidency Conclusions’, Thessaloniki European Council, 19 and 20 June.
6.
FumerioM. (2003), The Role of European Political Parties in the Convention on the Future of Europe, Master's thesis presented at the College of Europe, Bruges.
7.
Giscard d'EstaingV. (2002), ‘Introductory Speech to the Convention on the Future of Europe’, SN 1565/02, Brussels, 26 February.
8.
Giscard d'EstaingV. (2003), ‘Eléments d'intervention du Président Giscard d'Estaing en fin de séance’, European Convention, 9 and 10 July.
9.
HoffmannL. (2002), ‘The Convention on the Future of Europe – Thoughts on the Convention-Model’, Jean Monnet Working Paper 11/02, New York: NYU School of Law.
10.
KingdonJ. (1995), Agendas, Alternatives, and Public Policies (2nd edn), New York: Addison-Wesley.
11.
LukesS. (1974), Power, A Radical View, London: Macmillan.
12.
MagnetteP. (2002), ‘Deliberation vs. Negotiation. A first analysis of the Convention on the Future of the Union’, paper presented at the 1st Pan-European Conference on European Union Politics, Bordeaux, 26–28 September.
13.
MagnetteP. (2003), ‘In the Name of Simplification. Constitutional Rhetoric in the Convention on the Future of Europe’, paper presented at the CIDEL-conference on ‘Deliberative Constitutional Politics in the EU’, Albarracín (Zaragoza), 19–22 June 2003.
14.
MoravcsikA. (1998), The Choice for Europe: Social Purpose and State Power from Messina to Maastricht, Ithaca, NY: Cornell University Press.
15.
ShawJ. (2003), ‘Process, Responsibility and Inclusion in EU Constitutionalism’, European Law Journal9(1), pp. 45–68.
