In December 2001 the European Council charged a European Convention with drafting a constitutional document that would ensure efficiency, clearer lines of responsibility and prepare the way for Europe’s expansion. The convention consisted of a commission of bigwigs headed by that old warhorse of French Europeanism former president Giscard D’Estaing.52 The proposal enshrined a new balance between centralized decision making by majority vote and the irreducible role of the European nation-states. It subordinated all the various institutions and treaties that had made up the pillars of European
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