Can we still speak of constitutional developments in Europe after the fall of the document called the ‘European Constitution’ in the French and Dutch referenda? Yes, we definitely can do so, for that document was not the founding act of a European constitutional order; it was a step(undoubtedly a very relevant one) in a process that has been ongoing for more than 40 years.

The European Community was conceived as an international organisation based on the typical source of international law, a treaty among sovereign states. Inside the organisation the representatives of the Member States, namely their Ministers sitting in a common Council (more precisely, in the sectoral formations of it), were empowered to adopt the legally bindings acts of the Community.