EU Federalism and Constitutionalism

The Legacy of Altiero Spinelli

Contributions by Stefano Bartolini, Pier-Virgilio D'Astoli, Sergio Fabbrini, Jean-Marie Palayret, Paolo Ponzano, Bruno de Witte Edited by Andrew Glencross, Alexander H. Trechsel

Publication date:

21 October 2010

Length of book:

172 pages

Publisher

Lexington Books

ISBN-13: 9780739133347

EU Federalism and Constitutionalism: The Legacy of Altiero Spinelli, edited by Andrew Glencross and Alexander H. Trechsel, represents the first book-length study of the travails of the implementation of federalism at the European level from the perspective of Altiero Spinelli's ideas and his political life, which were both devoted to a federally united Europe. It is also a timely publication given the protracted struggle to implement a new EU institutional architecture—the 2009 Lisbon Treaty—that is already being tested by the fallout from the global financial crisis. This fallout has brought into stark relief the tensions within the EU over the question of enhancing solidarity and federal unity or remaining a looser association of sovereign states. Hence by examining the successes and failures of federalism within the EU system, the book seeks to explain not only how the EU has reached its current impasse but also how it may fare in the future. To achieve this objective, the book takes an interdisciplinary approach that covers all three dimensions of the European project: historical, legal, and political. In this fashion, Andrew Glencross and Alexander H. Trechsel's EU Federalism and Constitutionalism: The Legacy of Altiero Spinelli offers a comprehensive and up-to-date analysis of the history, evolution, and future of federal principles and institutions in the European integration process.

Foreword
Acknowledgments
List of Tables
Introduction
Part One: The Constitutional Dimension
1. The "Spinelli Treaty" of February 1984: The Start of the Process of Constitutionalizing the European Union
2. Taking "Constitutionalism" and "Legitimacy" Seriously
Part Two: The Comparative Dimension
3. Revisiting Altiero Spinelli: Why to Look at the European Union through the American Experience
4. Altiero Spinelli and Idea of the US Constitution as a Model for Europe
Part Three: Political Actors and the Institutional Dimension
5. The Question of Treaty Architecture: From the "Spinelli Draft" to the Lisbon Treaty
6. François Mitterrand and the "Spinelli Treaty" of 1984: Support or Instrumentalization?
Conclusion: Altiero Spinelli and the Future of the European Union
Notes on Contributors

Federalism has been a regular benchmark throughout the history of European integration: a goal for some, a threat for others. This timely volume, written by renowned experts, offers a first assessment of its influence on the institutional development of the EU. Definitely worth reading to understand how Europe might be moving ahead in the future.