Klaus Thomalla, Bochum: Der Begriff der europäischen Verfassung als verfassungstheoretisches und sozialphilosophisches Problem

This article examines whether European integration and identity are prerequisites for a common constitution, or whether they can result from the process through which the European member states give themselves a constitution; in the latter case integration may be considered the main task and challenge for the European constitutive process, especially when we seek to formulate the basic rights, the preamble or other symbols. In order to be able to engage in the process of developing a common constitution Europeans have to assume first of all that there already are common experiences and values in Europe that can bring about the intended results. What we invoke are events and memories that connect the citizens of the European Union. Understood in this way, the search for a European constitution is itself a necessary condition for initiating European identity. By consequence, there is no predetermined concept of a European constitution, rather there is an ideal of political unity that needs to be realized in practice.

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