On 19 November 2004, following a request by the French President on 29 October, the French Constitutional Council rules that the authorisation to ratify the Treaty establishing a Constitution for Europe requires a prior revision of the French Constitution.

On 21 October 2004, the Spanish Council of State delivers an opinion on the Treaty establishing a Constitution for Europe. It raises some doubts as to the compatibility of the Treaty with the Spanish Constitution and recommends that the government submit it for a constitutional review prior to ratification.

On 13 December 2004, the Spanish Constitutional Court rules that there is no incompatibility or contradiction between articles I-6, II-111 and II-112 of the Treaty establishing a Constitution for Europe, on the one hand, and the Spanish Constitution, on the other hand.

On 14 October 2003, MPs Karel De Gucht and Rik Daems from the VLD party (Flemish Liberals and Democrats) submit a bill for the organisation of a referendum on the Treaty establishing a Constitution for Europe, driven by concerns to hold a major public debate and to involve the general public, who are directly affected by the Treaty.

On 25 November 2004, ten Belgian socialist MPs submit a proposal for a special temporary regulation concerning a wide public consultation and information campaign prior to acceptance of the Treaty establishing a Constitution for Europe. Given the difficulties, particularly from a constitutional viewpoint, of a decision-making referendum or a non-binding public consultation, the proposal speculates on the best way of ensuring that the views of everyone are heard by the Chamber.

On 29 November 2004, following a request by the President of the Chamber of Representatives on 17 November, the Council of State delivers its opinion on the Bill for the organisation of a referendum on the Treaty establishing a Constitution for Europe. It concludes that such a referendum would require a prior amendment to the Constitution.

In 2003, the Finnish Constitution Committee delivers an opinion on the draft European Constitution drawn up by the Convention and looks ahead to the Intergovernmental Conference. While it is in favour of a referendum for the ratification of the future Treaty, it rules that this is a matter for political decision and is not necessary from a constitutional viewpoint.

On 8 July 2005, 13 Slovak citizens, members of the Konzervatívny Inštitút (Conservative Institute), lodge a complaint with the Constitutional Court against the decision by the Slovak Parliament on 11 May to approve the Treaty establishing a Constitution for Europe. The plaintiffs argue that the absence of a referendum represents an infringement of their rights under Article 30(1) of the Slovak Constitution.

The press release announcing the decision taken on 27 February 2008 by the Slovak Constitutional Court concerning the complaint lodged on 8 July 2005. After many considerations on the nature of the European Union, the Court rules that Parliament’s decision does not represent an infringement of citizens’ rights.

In this article published by the Robert Schuman Foundation on 7 February 2005, Jean-Michel De Waele and Ramona Coman outline the choices made by the Member States, in accordance with their respective constitutional requirements, on the procedure for ratification of the Treaty establishing a Constitution for Europe.

‘A helping hand for France.’ On 12 May 2005, as the Bundestag ratifies the Constitutional Treaty, German cartoonist Heiko Sakurai illustrates the strong signal that this sends to the French public, which will have to vote by referendum on the European Constitution on 29 May 2005 (on the left, Jacques Chirac, French President, trying to convince the French people to vote ‘Yes’).

On 19 May 2005, during the debates on the ratification by Parliament of the Treaty establishing a Constitution for Europe, the Belgian Prime Minister, Guy Verhofstadt, explains to MPs why he is calling on them to vote in favour of its ratification.

On 28 April 2005, Francis Delpérée, Christian Democratic Senator and Professor of Public Law at the Catholic University of Louvain, urges the Senate to ratify the Treaty establishing a Constitution for Europe.

Extract from the minutes of debates held in the plenary session of the Spanish Senate on 18 April 2005. The bill authorising the ratification of the Treaty establishing a Constitution for Europe is adopted.

Extract from the minutes of debates held in the plenary session of the Spanish Congress of Deputies on 28 April 2005. The bill authorising the ratification of the Treaty establishing a Constitution for Europe is adopted.

A leaflet, setting out the case for rejection, distributed by opponents to the European Constitution during the campaign in the run-up to the referendum on the ratification of the Treaty establishing a Constitution for Europe, held on 1 June 2005 in the Netherlands.

Booklet distributed by the Netherlands authorities as part of the campaign which preceded the referendum on the ratification of the Treaty establishing a Constitution for Europe, held on 1 June in the Netherlands.

In this article published by the Robert Schuman Foundation on 7 February 2005, Jean-Michel De Waele and Ramona Coman outline the choices made by the Member States, in accordance with their respective constitutional requirements, on the procedure for ratification of the Treaty establishing a Constitution for Europe.

During the campaign for the referendum held on 1 June 2005 in the Netherlands on the ratification of the Treaty establishing a Constitution for Europe, posters are displayed, as they are here in The Hague, calling on voters to accept or reject the Constitutional Treaty.

On 22 November 2004, a few days before the French Socialist Party’s internal referendum on the Treaty establishing a Constitution for Europe, François Hollande, First Secretary of the Party and strong supporter of the ‘Yes’ vote, comments on the main articles of the text.

On 22 November 2004, in an article for the Paris weekly news magazine L’Express, MPs Laurent Fabius and Dominique Strauss-Kahn, respectively the former French Prime Minister and a former French Socialist Minister, outline their opposing views on the Treaty establishing a Constitution for Europe.

On 28 April 2005, in an article for the French weekly newspaper Le Nouvel Observateur, Jacques Delors, former President of the European Commission, rejects the arguments often put forward by supporters of the ‘No’ vote in the campaign for the referendum in France on the Treaty establishing a Constitution for Europe.

On 10 February 2005, during a visit to Vilnius, Lithuania, Michel Barnier, French Foreign Minister and former representative of the European Commission in the European Convention, sets out the main implications of the Treaty establishing a Constitution for Europe.

In diesem Interview bringt Valéry Giscard d’Estaing, von 1974 bis 1981 französischer Staatspräsident und Präsident des Europäischen Konvents von Dezember 2001 bis Juli 2003, sein Bedauern über das Scheitern des vom Konvent ausgearbeiteten Vertrags über eine Verfassung für Europa zum Ausdruck.

In diesem Interview unterstreicht Valéry Giscard d’Estaing, von 1974 bis 1981 französischer Staatspräsident und Präsident des Europäischen Konvents von Dezember 2001 bis Juli 2003, die Gründe für die Ablehnung des vom Konvent ausgearbeiteten Vertrags über eine Verfassung für Europa anlässlich der Volksabstimmung in Frankreich.

On the evening of 29 May 2005, following the announcement of the ‘No’ vote in the French referendum on the Constitutional Treaty, the Presidents of the European Parliament, the European Council and the European Commission issue a joint declaration in Brussels which underlines the need for national and European authorities to reflect, in due course, on the outcome of all the stages of the ratification process.

On 9 June 2005, commenting in the Antwerp daily newspaper De Standaard on the negative outcome of the referenda held in France and the Netherlands on the ratification of the Treaty establishing a Constitution for Europe, Jean-Luc Dehaene, former Belgian Prime Minister and former Vice-President of the European Convention, calls for the suspension of the ratification process and for a period of reflection on the nature of European integration.

On 28 June 2005, two weeks before the national referendum on the Treaty establishing a Constitution for Europe, Jean-Claude Juncker, Luxembourg Prime Minster and President-in-Office of the Council of the European Union, explains to the Chamber of Deputies why his government supports the ratification of the text.

On 19 May 2005, in Leiden, commenting on the referendum held on 1 June in the Netherlands on the Treaty establishing a Constitution for Europe, Bernard Bot, Netherlands Foreign Minister, delivers an address in which he emphasises the importance of this text for his country and for the European Union.

On 11 February 2005, on the eve of the referendum held in Spain on the Treaty establishing a Constitution for Europe, Prime Minister José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero delivers an address in Barcelona in support of the European Constitution.

This study, the Elcano Royal Institute’s contribution to the Ratification Monitor Project, provides the main information on the debates concerning the ratification process in Spain and the results of the referendum on the European Constitution held on 20 February 2005.

Report drawn up in February 2007 by researchers at the University of Luxembourg for the Luxembourg Chamber of Deputies. It sets out to emphasise and contextualise the specific features of the Luxembourg vote compared with other referendum processes.

After France’s rejection of the Treaty establishing a Constitution for Europe, the Commission conducts a ‘post-referendum survey’ in June 2005. The aim is to provide an analysis of the results of the referendum held on 29 May.

After the Netherlands’ rejection of the Treaty establishing a Constitution for Europe, the Commission conducts a ‘post-referendum survey’ in June 2005. The aim is to provide an analysis of the results of the referendum held on 1 June.

In this interview excerpt, Gérard Deprez, Member of the European Parliament from 1984 to 1999 (European People’s Party (EPP)), from 1999 to 2004 (Citizens’ Movement for Change (MCC)), from 2004 to 2009 and since 2014 (Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe (ALDE)), gives his views on the use of referendums to ratify the European Constitutional Treaty. He also discusses the difficulty of holding referendums in each European Union Member State, since in some countries this method of direct consultation is not possible; in Belgium, for example, it is not provided for in the constitution.