The Emerging European Union

Con l’approvazione del «Trattato che adotta una Costituzione per l’Europa» alla Conferenza Intergovernativa di Roma nel giugno 2004, l’Unione Europea si impegna in modo decisivo verso una più profonda integrazione politica. Il recente allargamento aumenta le chances che l’Unione contribuisca alla stabilità politica del continente sulla base del riconoscimento di diritti fondamentali e principi democratici. The Emerging European Union raccoglie contributi da diverse discipline - filosofia, scienze politiche, giurisprudenza – per illustrare il percorso giuridico, il significato politico e le prospettive aperte da questo decisivo passo verso l’unificazione europea.

With the approval of the «Treaty establishing a Constitution for Europe» at the Intergovernmental Conference of Rome June 2004, the European Union has taken a full-fledged commitment to deeper political integration. The newly accomplished enlargement adds to the chances that the European Union furthers political stability within an institutional frame based on the recognition of fundamental rights and democratic principles. The Emerging European Union collects contributions of philosophers, political and legal scientists who give account of the formal steps, the political meaning and the future perspectives opened by these paramount accomplishments in the European unification process. Following the path that has leaded from the Charter of Fundamental Rights to its inclusion into the Constitution, the question of Europe as a space of common rights is addressed. The contributions by scholars of Law present an analysis of the scope and range of the recognition of rights within the European juridical space – now enriched by the Constitutional Treaty. Political philosophers discuss the consequences of the Charter of Fundamental Rights and its inclusion into the Constitution for the deepening of a European political identity. Political Scientists analyse the international role of the European Union in the wake of a series of political deliberations that mark its specificity as a new form of polity.