Since the French and Dutch voters rejected the Treaty establishing a Constitution for Europe, in May and June 2005 respectively, politicians and lawyers have been confronted with the question of how to move forward. This book strives to formulate answers on the question of what to do if not all the Member States ratify the Treaty. It brings together contributions from over 50 experts from the 25 Member States, from candidate, potential candidate and neighbouring countries, as well as from Russia and the US. Key topics covered are: the process and impact of EU constitution-making; the...

Institutional Dynamics of European Integration is devoted to the topic of the institutional law of the Communities, and contains a timely collection of essays by eminent experts. While this volume will certainly refine legal understanding of the European Union in its present complex phase of development, it also constitutes a warm personal tribute to Henry Schermers, teacher and scholar of international renown and a pioneer of European Community law.

The picture of Brussels-based bureaucrats exercising wide-ranging, arbitrary executive powers with no accountability is one of the favorite images conjured by Eurosceptics across the political spectrum. What truth is there in the image? This book aims to bring the EU's executive powers out of the shadows by mapping the evolution and current form of the EU's various executive actors, their powers, and the mechanisms for holding them accountable. In doing so it provides a rich understanding of the way in which the EU's institutional and legal framework fits within national constitutional...

The picture of Brussels-based bureaucrats exercising wide-ranging, arbitrary executive powers with no accountability is one of the favorite images conjured by Eurosceptics across the political spectrum. What truth is there in the image? This book aims to bring the EU's executive powers out of the shadows by mapping the evolution and current form of the EU's various executive actors, their powers, and the mechanisms for holding them accountable. In doing so it provides a rich understanding of the way in which the EU's institutional and legal framework fits within national constitutional...

Postnational Democracy examines the concept of political community beyond the Nation State and discusses its possible structure in the context of the European Union. It explores the evolution of political identity within the context of the Nation State and considers the manner in which international organisations in general have affected the shared understandings' which have evolved over the course of time. It concludes that it is only in the context of the European Union that the public realm of politics within the constituent Nation States has been consistently undermined. The book...

In recent years there has been a considerable effort in some transnational organizations and institutions to confront a crisis of legitimacy by promising more accountability and openness. This volume takes as its central focus the role of accountability in democratic governance, and attempts to position a broad understanding of the notion of accountability within the overall context of the evolving political system of governance in Europe and in particular of the European Union. Bringing together new work by some of the leading scholars in the field, this volume considers the relationship...