Treaty establishing a Constitution for Europe — the abandoned Constitution for the European Union
The first attempt to give the EU a single constitutional document failed after French and Dutch voters rejected it in 2005, leading to the Lisbon Treaty instead.
Key Facts
- Signing date
- 29 October 2004
- Signatory member states
- 25
- States that ratified
- 18
- French referendum rejection
- May 2005
- Dutch referendum rejection
- June 2005
- Successor treaty signed
- 13 December 2007 (Treaty of Lisbon)
By the Numbers
Location
Cause → Event → Consequence
Following successive enlargements of the European Union, EU leaders sought to streamline and consolidate the accumulated body of founding treaties into a single constitutional document. The aim was to simplify governance, codify fundamental rights, and extend qualified majority voting to areas previously requiring unanimous agreement among member states.
Representatives of all 25 EU member states signed the Treaty establishing a Constitution for Europe in Rome on 29 October 2004. The treaty would have replaced existing EU treaties with a single text and given legal force to the Charter of Fundamental Rights. Ratification proceeded in 18 states, including through referendums in Spain and Luxembourg that endorsed the treaty.
French voters rejected the treaty in May 2005 and Dutch voters followed in June 2005, ending the ratification process. After a period of reflection, the Treaty of Lisbon was drafted as a replacement. Rather than creating a codified constitution, Lisbon amended existing treaties and entered into force on 1 December 2009 after ratification by all member states.
Political Outcome
Treaty failed to be ratified after rejection by French and Dutch referendums in 2005; superseded by the Treaty of Lisbon (2009).
EU governed by multiple overlapping treaties without a single constitutional framework
Ratification failed; EU eventually reformed through the Treaty of Lisbon, amending existing treaties without a unified constitution