Abstract
After years of intense negotiations between member States, the European Convention led by former French President Valéry Giscard d?Estaing submitted the final draft of the Treaty Establishing a Constitution for Europe (hereafter referred to as "TECE") on July 15th, 2003. The aim of the treaty was to streamline E.U. institutions which were rendered obsolete following the admission of 10 new member states in 2004, and in anticipation of future enlargements. The French President Jacques Chirac decided to ratify the treaty with a general referendum, and after a very intense campaign voters decided, on May 29, 2005 to reject the TECE, sparking an unprecedented political and institutional crisis that has yet to be resolved.
