In this interview excerpt, Philippe de Schoutheete, Belgian Permanent Representative to the European Union from 1987 to 1997 and Special Adviser to European Commissioner Michel Barnier from 1999 to 2004, looks back at the rejection of the Constitutional Treaty by the French and Dutch people and emphasises the major crisis that this represented for the European Union. He also discusses the treaty ratification procedure in general.

In this interview excerpt, Philippe de Schoutheete, Belgian Permanent Representative to the European Union from 1987 to 1997 and Special Adviser to European Commissioner Michel Barnier from 1999 to 2004, discusses the constitutional approach and its consequences on the development of public opinion in Europe.

In this interview excerpt, Philippe de Schoutheete, Belgian Permanent Representative to the European Union from 1987 to 1997 and Special Adviser to European Commissioner Michel Barnier from 1999 to 2004, discusses the compromise between the supranational and intergovernmental approaches to European integration.

In this interview excerpt, Philippe de Schoutheete, Belgian Permanent Representative to the European Union from 1987 to 1997 and Special Adviser to European Commissioner Michel Barnier from 1999 to 2004, raises the question of the treaty revision procedure, particularly the idea of abandoning the ‘double unanimity’ principle.