The path to a new Treaty

On 19 October 2007 EU leaders agreed the precise text of the Reform Treaty, which is due to be formally signed on 13 December 2007 in order to take effect in January 2009. The purpose of this article is to explore the main innovations included in the new treaty.
The rejection of the Constitutional Treaty by popular vote in France and the Netherlands was followed by a reflection period. This provided an opportunity to review new options for institutional governance of the European Union. (...)

A Eurobarometer survey shows that a large majority of people want their government to make concessions to secure agreement on a European constitution. The Commission funded poll was organised on 23/24 January 2004 following the collapse of the Intergovernmental Conference (IGC). The survey shows that 77% of people in the 25 countries are in favour of the EU adopting a Constitution, with 15% opposed to the idea. More than 60% of people expect that without a constitution the European (...)