The European Union Constitutional Treaty: quest for efficiency and effectiveness?
The European Union Constitutional Treaty

Summary/Abstract: The purpose of this article is to examine this possibility. I will not take into consideration the debate about the ratification process, which is a separate subject, but about the efficiency and effective functioning of the EU, in the case of a ratified Constitutional Treaty, alone. The topic, nonetheless, is a complex one, starting for instance with what is the meaning of concepts likes ‘efficiency’ or ‘effective functioning’, and continuing with how the efficiency can be measured. We must also consider what criteria allow us to appreciate whether the EU will be more efficient than today under the new Constitutional Treaty clauses. Therefore, this paper will comprise three sections. Firstly, I will attempt to understand what the current relation is between the decision-making process and the EU’s efficiency and effectiveness. Secondly, I will examine briefly the national positions exposed during the negotiation process. Finally, I will analyze the decision-making mechanism as it is envisaged by the Constitutional Treaty.

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