The European Union in not yet on the verge of becoming a state, at least not in the traditional form that from Europe itself spread out into the world. Yet the hypothesis of a European constitution is not only increasingly debated, it has even entered an institutional planning phase. Of course, this challenges the consolidation assumption that only a state can have a constitution, and this implies that the construction of a constitution without a state will be in any case difficult. Yet its construction continues, based on the belief that we should formally acknowledge a heritage of civilization and shared constitutional traditions, which have made Europe a unitary and unique actor. This volume reviews the basic trends in the evolution of community law and constitutional law since World War II and, within this theoretical and historical framework, evaluates their possible convergence. Even thought the world is dominated by globalization and seems bound to lose its sense of history, identity and boundaries, the text shows that it is possible to write a charter capable of reflecting both Europeans long-time coexistence and their shared future.

Cesare Pinelli teaches Comparative Constitutional Law at the University of Macerata.