Constitution

One-minute summary

The EU is a treaty-based organisation whose existing constitution is a complex set of overlapping treaties (the Treaty of Rome, Maastricht, Amsterdam and Nice, plus a number of others) agreed at various times between sovereign member states.

The 'Treaty establishing a Constitution for Europe', commonly known as the 'European Constitution', was a draft treaty which would have reformed the EU by:

• replacing the complex mass of overlapping treaties with a single, comprehensible text;
• clarifying exactly what the EU can and can't do;
• strengthening the roles of the European Parliament and national parliaments in European decision-making;
• providing a lasting settlement of constitutional and institutional issues in the Union.

Like all EU treaties, the treaty required ratification by all member states according to their own arrangements. To date, although the majority of member states have ratified, the rejection of the draft by France and the Netherlands has left the treaty with a highly uncertain future.

Labour views

• UK government: "It remains our view that the treaty represents a sensible new set of rules for the enlarged European Union."
• European Parliamentary Labour Party: "This debate has been a battle between reformers and wreckers."
• Richard Corbett MEP: "We cannot simply say 'too bad: it was a nice idea to make the EU more effective and democratically accountable, but now we can forget it'."
• Linda McAvan MEP: "The draft document puts paid to the notion that the EU is simply about a giant free market."

Other views

• Conservatives: "The Constitution will give the EU greater control over criminal justice and our courts."
• Liberal Democrats: "The constitution introduces greater openness and transparency into EU decision-making."
• UK Independence Party: "The UK Independence Party is obviously delighted at the convincing NO from both the French and the Dutch populations."
• European TUC: "The truth is that the constitution will be the best arrangement in the European Union that we have ever had."

Reference materials

• Wikipedia article on the European Constitution: Wikipedia is a user-edited online encyclopedia.
• Full text of the Constitution: Supplied by Wikisource.

Ask the Expert

Need clarification? If you are an LME member, you can post a question on this subject in our Ask the Expert area, part of the Secure Campaign Centre. The area is regularly monitored by MPs, MEPs and LME volunteers.

Found a link?

If you know of a resource on this subject which you think others might find useful, we can add it to this page. Please email webmaster@lme.org.uk.