The Accidental Constitution. The Making of Europe’s Constitutional Treaty

Peter Norman's 'Accidental Constitution' first published in 2003, was an authoritative account of the European Convention and the controversial draft Constitution that it produced. Peter Norman has now taken the story of the EU's 'Accidental Constitution' further. Subtitled, 'the making of Europe's constitutional treaty', the new edition explains the text that must now be ratified by all the Union's 25 member states. It sheds light on the complex political and constitutional issues that the EU's leaders set out to solve and explains why the subsequent negotiations among the member states came close to disaster before ending in agreement.

Knowing how the European Union's constitution came about is crucial to understanding a text that could have a profound effect on the lives of 500 million European citizens for decades to come. This book, written by a former bureau chief of the Financial Times in Brussels, draws on a wealth of documentary evidence, the insights gained from talking to key participants in the creation of the EU's constitutional treaty and the author's expert knowledge of EU affairs.

Aimed at the lay reader as well as the specialist, the book is essential reading for all who want to understand the European Union of today. It is a tale of people and politics. It is also a tale of the unexpected. That is why the book is called the 'Accidental Constitution'