Summary

There is no doubt that the European Union is a unique formation which no longer is an international organisation in the classical sense. Thus, the question arises whether the supranational European Union also needs a uniform Constitution in its present phase of development.
To answer the question, the author focuses first on the nature of the European Union and its law in force in order to find out whether the European Union has a Constitution already. The author states that although constitutional principles are provided for in the Treaty establishing the European Community and the Treaty on European Union, and the provisions of the Treaties are regularly complemented by the judicial practice of the European Court of Justice, such principles form a constitutional doctrine and constitutional process rather than a formal Constitution.
To answer the question whether the Constitution of the European Union is possible in legal terms, the author examines the definition of constitution and, further, the question whether the European Union meets the characteristics of a state. The conclusion that, according to the prevailing opinion, the European Union cannot be regarded as a state does not, in the author’s opinion, preclude the possible existence of the Constitution of the European Union in parallel with the Constitutions of the Member States of the European Union at the initial stage.
A major part of the article is devoted to the problem whether there is a sufficient political and legal will to establish a Constitution of the European Union. Analysing arguments for and against the Constitution of the European Union, the author addresses problems in connection with the possible procedure for the adoption of such Constitution and, first and foremost, the risks related to a referendum and the difficulties to be faced in the implementation of the Constitution of the European Union. Finally, the author examines alternatives to the Constitution of the European Union.