The adoption of the Constitution for Europe, on 29 October 2004 in Rome, in a return to the venue where the old EEC Treaty was signed, was hoped to be a great leap forward for European integration. Its ratification, however, proved to be a bridge too far for the populations of France and the Netherlands. Significantly, given that many voters simply used the referenda in those countries to express a general dissatisfaction with the political class, Jean‐Claude Piris begins this major study of the central and most characteristic aspects of the Constitution for Europe with the question whether the Constitution is now dead and buried. While he rightly concludes that it is too early for the requiem, he gives a careful analysis of the scenarios resulting from these referenda results.

This work makes a seminal contribution to the understanding of the core aspects of the Constitution, with the advantage of the author's unique insights into the processes by which it came about. Whatever the result of the further political deliberations, the Constitution stands as a reference point for the future development of integration, and it may be anticipated that this work will become the focus of much attention by scholars, politicians and others interested in the development of the European Union. Piris points out the innovations and improvements which the Constitution would introduce, building on the unfinished work of Maastricht, Amsterdam, and Nice.