Study On The Sources Of EU Constitution-building Crisis

The EU Constitutional Treaty was vetoed in the referendum in France and Holland, and thereafter led to the EU Constitution building crisis which was followed by two years of retrospect on that problem. In December 2007 EU members signed the amended and simplified version of The EU Constitutional Treaty—Lisbon Treaty; hence the course of Constitution-making got rebooted. The EU Constitution building crisis, the most serious and complicated case in European Integration process, mirrors various conflicts arising in the phase of orientation option and has evoked reflections on the obstructions and possibilities of European Integration and development.This dissertation analyzes the development of European Integration through the study of the EU Constitution building crisis. Comprehensive methodologies, including theory analysis, history analysis, empirical analysis and game analysis, are employed to explicate the primary factors that have resulted in the setbacks of The EU Constitution making in terms of globalization, and to explain the essence of European Integration as well as its direction of development. The main causes for the Constitution building crisis are illustrated multi-perspectively in the light of the official reports from the Eurobarometer polls before and after The EU Constitutional Treaty referendum in 2005.The textual analysis of the two versions of EU Constitution reveals the flaws and weaknesses in the text itself. The Constitution can't mitigate and prevent conflicts and struggle for power among EU members. Though Lisbon Treaty can help in the reform after the EU Eastern Enlargement, its nature as a substitute treaty manifests great contradictions between intergovernmentalism and supernationalism, between economic integration and political integration, and in the choice of social mode.From the economic point of view, there lies serious imbalance in the EU members' economic levels and difference in needs. The conflict of economic interests is getting fiercer after the Eastern Enlargement. Under the framework of The EU Constitutional Treaty, decision-making in most cases tends to represent and protect the interests of certain nations and groups at the sacrifice of other EU members. The inability to achieve absolute justice among nations while seeking the joint interests of the European Union as the first priority is the economic basis for the EU Constitution building crisis.The social perspective presents the lack of recognition in Europe as the choke point in the course of European Integration. The empirical study on European recognition and national recognition proves that European recognition is a complex and ambiguous concept and that the priority of European recognition and national recognition is determined by various factors and differs from nation to nation. The veto on The EU Constitutional Treaty in France and Holland manifests that the future of European Integration cannot count on treaty any more, but on the public recognition of nations members. After the Eastern Enlargement, EU members get more diversified, with their economic and social mode varied; and therefore it's hard to implement Lisbon Treaty though passed.Based on the theory of geo-politics, this dissertation studies in depth the geo-political principles and distinct interests of France, Germany and Britain—the EU "Troika" as well as the US. The EU Constitution building crisis reflects that the structure of the EU has transformed from the solid Franco-German Axis to unity among EU members grounded on common benefits. With the members establishing diverse GeoCommunities around the Big Three, the EU is getting into "constructive ambiguity" and thus curbs the process of Constitution making.In terms of sovereignty, this dissertation employs the methodology of game analysis and points out that the EU still lingers in intergovernmental mechanisms and that national interest remains the primary concern among EU members. European Integration can hardly get through unless all the expectations from the members are satisfied. In the long term, the EU will be a regional international organization with more obvious supranational elements and deeper integration, rather than a federal state in the sense of International Law.Following the multidimensional study on the roots of the EU Constitution building crisis, this dissertation probes further into the factors of resistance and drive for European Integration in the context of globalization. The crisis exposes the problem of loyalty transfer, sovereignty transfer, anti-globalization trend, and cross-national political intervention. Underlying the crisis are the conflicts between collective and individual, between small nations and big nations, between predecessor and follower, and between elites and mass. In conclusion, this dissertation holds that the drive for European Integration in the tide of globalization includes the magnification and pervasion of the integration magnetic field, the deepening of nation-states' dependence on supranational manipulation and the increase of sovereignty transfer benefits to nation-states.