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Authors

Anthony Arnull

Abstract

The purpose of this Article is to consider the implications for the European Union's (“EU”) Member States of the Draft Union Constitution published in the summer of 2003. The Article begins by briefly describing the process which led to the production of the Draft Treaty and considers the formal status it would enjoy if adopted. The Article then focuses on provisions of the Draft Treaty which: 1. deal with its relationship with the domestic law of the Member States; 2. affect EU decision-making, particularly the functioning of institutions in which the Member States are directly represented at the political level or the overall institutional balance in the EU; 3. affect Member States' freedom of action, especially in areas which might be regarded as touching core aspects of national sovereignty; or 4. affect the functioning of national institutions or their role in the activities of the EU. The Article concludes with an attempt to appraise the overall significance of the Draft Treaty on the relationship between the Union and its Member States. The assessment offered throughout the Article is of necessity, provisional. The Draft Treaty is a long and complex document and its full implications are unlikely to be immediately apparent.

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