Constitution and Democracy in the Treaty Establishing a Constitution for Europe

On 28 October, the Heads of State and/or Government signed the 'new' EU Constitution. 2 Ratification pending, the summit closed a long and intense debate on the constitutional foundation of the EU whose initiation many commentators place at the speech of Joscha Fischer in 2000 before the Treaty of Nice. Although the Draft consolidates more than innovates pre-existing Union acquis, the importance of this text and the constitutional event (the Convention) should not go unnoticed. Their interpretation as an. Ackermanian'. constitutional moment' marked by civic virtue can probably be ruled out (Walker; 2003). In another sense, the. founding constitutional act' that grounds a world-historically new practice - a practice meant to bring forth a self-determining community of free and equal citizens (Habermas; 2001: 775) - transcends probably the single event of the convention.