The article analyses the evolution that the process of EU constitutional reform has achieved over this past year. It looks into the innovations introduced in the Constitutional Treaty approved in July 2003 at the European Convention and the proposals of the government and the Italian representatives. The paper then goes over the debate at the intergovernmental conference and the role played by the Italian EU Presidency (July-December 2003). It also highlights the critical aspects which led to the breakdown in negotiations at the Intergovernmental Conference and the underlying political motivations. Lastly, it indicates a few steps which need to be taken to restart negotiations, given that the European Parliamentary elections are to be held in June 2004.only subscribers can see the full article

Spurred by the ongoing discussion on the principles of a EU Constitutional Treaty, the two US authors explore the development processes of norms currently in force in the Union, highlighting the elements of democracy. Defined as «concerted polyarchy», they interpret European decision-making procedures as a process in which the solution to problems is founded on the permanent imbalance between motivations and interests and on the organised and collective exploration of the resulting differences. The decision taken is «polyarchic» as the analysis and approval depend on mutual control by the decentralised operators, facilitated by the existence of a central structure. In this sense, although an intrinsically democratic concerted polyarchy doesn’t exist, it stimulates the exploration of diversity to expose the decision-makers to full appraisal, transforming the obstacle of diversity into an instrument to accelerate and broaden the search for solutions.only subscribers can see the full article