‘The European Constitution is best perceived as a composite Constitution, comprising constitutional rules and principles developed at European level, complemented by (common) national constitutional rules and principles as well as those from other sources such as the ECHR and international law. Crucially, European as well as national law are involved in defining a European constitutional law’.

The ERC-funded European and National Constitutional Law (EuNaCon) project (2008 – 13), headed by Prof. Monica Claes, was set up to better understand and improve the body of knowledge on the national component of Europe’s composite Constitution. As such, national constitutional traditions and principles have been analysed and compared in four key areas of constitutional law, and the insights obtained have been used to formulate a better understanding of Europe’s composite Constitution.

EuNaCon marks its successful conclusion with a Closing Conference that takes place between 20-22 February 2013 in Maastricht, The Netherlands.

During the Closing Conference, the results of EuNaCon’s five individual sub-projects will be presented and discussed. Four of these projects offer a detailed comparative analysis of how a selection of Member States and the European Union approach classic themes of constitutional law, respectively addressing:

1. The individual and political participation

2. Parliaments and governments

3. Constitutional interpretation and review

4. Territorial pluralism

The fifth project seeks to formulate a conceptual view of the European Constitution that is firmly rooted in common constitutional principles and traditions, while coping with constitutional diversity.

In addition, there will be ample room for broader reflections on related pertinent issues of European and national constitutional law by means of presentations and comments by leading experts in the field.