Werner Weidenfeld 
Understanding the European Constitution 

The purpose of the European Constitution is to make the European Union more democratic and more accessible to its citizens, and to enable it to function more effectively. The burgeoning EU is no longer governable through the Treaties as they stand. Yet the document that politicians have hailed as ’historic’ is needlessly complicated, and virtually incomprehensible to ordinary people. This was one of the main reasons why the citizens of France and the Netherlands rejected the Constitution in their referenda. The European Constitution marks the starting point for a renewed debate about Europe. This book makes it easier to understand both the Constitution and the EU in general. Using accessible language, it guides the reader through the complicated subject matter step by step. Concise tables explain the genesis of the Constitution, its structure, the changes that it will bring about, and how decisions in the EU will be made in the years to come. Those who wish to play a part in shaping the future of Europe need to be familiar with the basic foundations of the European Union, and this demands an understanding of the European Constitution.