The Constitutional Treaty of 29 October 2004

The scope and structure of the Constitutional Treaty


The Treaty establishing a Constitution for Europe, signed on 29 October 2004 by the representatives of the 25 Member States at the Rome European Council, set out in particular to make the European Union’s institutions more efficient and more transparent to European citizens. Enlargement of the European Union also made it necessary to strengthen that Union. The Treaty simplified the way in which the Union functioned as regards its principles, its competences and the exercising thereof, its institutions and its budgetary and financial regime.


It comprises a Preamble, four Parts (numbered from I to IV in Roman numerals) and 36 Protocols. Two Annexes are attached to the Treaty, as well as 41 Declarations adopted by the Intergovernmental Conference (IGC) and nine of which the Conference took formal note. The Treaty consists of a total of 448 articles.


The Treaty is structured as follows:


Preamble

Part I — Constitution (Definition and objectives of the Union)

Part II — The Charter of Fundamental Rights of the Union

Part III — The Policies and Functioning of the Union

Part IV — General and Final Provisions

Protocols and Annexes

Final Act


Consult in PDF format