Policy-Making Processes and the European Constitution: A Comparative Study of Member States and Accession Countries

ISBN-13: 9780415385077 / Angielski / Twarda / 2006 / 336 str.

Thomas Konig; Simon Hug

Opis

This new volume presents a wealth of fresh data documenting and analyzing the different positions taken by governments in the development of the European Constitution. It examines how such decisions have substantial effects on the sovereignty of nation states and on the lives of citizens, independent of the ratification of a constitution. Few efforts have been made to document constitution building in a systematic and comparative manner, including the different steps and stages of this process. This book examines European Constitution-building by tracing the two-level policy formation process from the draft proposal of the European Convention until the Intergovernmental Conference, which finally adopted the document on the Constitution in June 2004. Following a tight comparative framework, it sheds light on reactions to the proposed constitution in the domestic arena of all the actors involved. It includes a chapter on each of the original ten member states and the fifteen accession states, plus key chapters on the European Commission and European Parliament. This book will be of strong interest to scholars and researchers of European Union politics, comparative politics, and policy-making.

Spis treści

Introduction  1. The European Convention and the Rome and Brussels IGCs: A Veto Players Analysis  2. The European Convention: Consensus without Unity?  3. The Coordination of Austria’s National Position regarding the Constitution  4. Belgium, the Convention and the IGC: Consensus and Coalition Politics  5. Cyprus: Under the Shadow of the Inter-Communal Conflict  6. The Czech Republic: Sitting on the Fence  7. Denmark: The Nordic Model as an Effort to Bridge Elite Euro-Optimism and Popular Euro-Skepticism  8. Estonia: A Single Voice in Europe’s Intergovernmental Bargaining  9. Finland: Centralized Consensus on EU Constitution Building  10. France: The President takes all  11. Germany: The Promoter of European Integration?  12. Greece: Overcoming Negative Stereotyping  13. Hungary: United in Support, Divided by Borders  14. Ireland: Pragmatism and the EU Constitution  15. Italy: The Presidency at Work?  16. Latvia and the EU Constitution: A Pragmatic 'Yes'  17. Lithuania: A Priority for Europe  18. Luxembourg, the Convention and the IGC: Consensus and Concern for Its Economy  19. Malta: the Importance of Being Unimportant  20. Domestic Preference Formation in the Netherlands on the European Constitution  21. Poland: the Struggle for Nice  22. Portugal: in Quest for a New Role  23. Slovakia: Avoiding Conflict to Secure Stability  24. Position Taking and Coordination Processes of the Government of the Republic of Slovenia  25. Preference Formation and European Constitution-Building: The Spanish Perspective  26. The 'Third Way' of Sweden Towards the European Constitution: Promoting Social Policies and Safeguarding Neutrality  27. Position Taking and Coordination Processes of the Government of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland  28. The Commission, the Convention and the IGC: Consensus and Concern for Its Role  29. Position Taking and Coordination Processes of the European Parliament  30. Conclusion

O autorze

Thomas König is Professor of Political Science at the German University for Administrative Sciences Speyer. Simon Hug is Professor of Political Science at the University of Zurich, Switzerland.