Improving EU Constitutional Politics? A Preliminary Assessment of the Convention

Abstract

The Convention appears to many as both a confirmation of the thesis of the new institutionalism on the value of institutions for shaping the outcome of constitutional politics (the politics of creating EU fundamental rules) and a new model for democratic deliberative politics. From this second perspective, there is no doubt that it significantly improves EU constitutional politics but, when viewed against stringent procedural requirements defining the deliberation process, some defects appear. Representativity, procedures, the consensus rule and the Convention mandate provide standards to measure the criteria for assessing the democratic and legitimate character of the Convention.constitutional change; democracy; legitimacy; European Convention; treaty reform; political science