Constitutional Identity in a Europe of Multilevel Constitutionalism

The constitutional identity of the Member States is a topic of increasing importance in understanding the interaction between the EU and its Member States. This is because the EU is enjoined to respect the constitutional identities of its Member States in accordance with Article 4(2) TEU. There is also a trend among Member States to articulate their constitutional identities, in particular in relation to European integration. In this regard, this volume fills a need in scholarship by presenting critical analyses of the constitutional identities of selected Member States. Leading and well-placed experts contribute country studies on a range of states, which are compared using a framework that can be applied to other Member States as well. The analyses and comparison of Member States' constitutional identities take place in the context of the EU's multilevel architecture.

Part I. Constitutional Identity Introduced and its EU Law Dimension: 1. Constitutional identity introduced Christian Calliess and Gerhard van der Schyff; 2. Article 4(2) TEU as a vehicle for national constitutional identity in the shared European legal system Anita Schnettger; Part II. Constitutional Identity and its Member State Law Dimension: 3. Constitutional identity in Austria: basic principles and identity beyond the abolition of nobility Georg Lienbacher and Matthias Lukan; 4. Constitutional identity in Belgium: a thing of mystery Elke Cloots; 5. Constitutional identity in the Czech Republic: a new twist on an old fashioned idea? David Kosař and Ladislav Vyhnánek; 6. Constitutional identity in Denmark: extracting constitutional identity in the context of a restrained Supreme Court and a strong legislator Helle Krunke; 7. Constitutional identity in France: vices and – above all – virtues François-Xavier Millet; 8. Constitutional identity in Germany: one for three or three in one? Christian Calliess; 9. Constitutional identity in Ireland: national and popular sovereignty as checks on European integration Eoin Daly; 10. Constitutional identity in Italy: institutional disagreements at a time of political change Federico Fabbrini and Oreste Pollicino; 11. Constitutional identity in the Netherlands: sailing with others Ernst Hirsch Ballin; 12. Constitutional identity in Poland: is the Emperor putting on the old clothes of sovereignty? Anna Śledzińska-Simon and Michał Ziółkowski; 13. Constitutional identity in Spain: commitment to European integration without giving up the essence of the constitution José Martín y Pérez de Nanclares; 14. Constitutional identity in the United Kingdom: an evolving concept Paul Craig; Part III. Comparative Constitutional Identity and Multilevel Constitutionalism: 15. Member states of the European Union, constitutions and identity: a comparative perspective Gerhard van der Schyff; 16. The protection of constitutional identity in a Europe of multilevel constitutionalism Christian Calliess and Anita Schnettger.

Christian Calliess is Professor for Public and European Law at Freie Universität Berlin, Germany. From 2015 until 2018 he was on leave in order to work as Legal Adviser to the European Political Strategy Center (EPSC), the In-House-Think-Tank of the President of the European Commission, and Head of the Institutional Team. Before 2015 he advised the German Parliament (Bundestag), also representing it before the German Constitutional Court and the Court of the EU, among others in the ESM- and OMT-Case. He co-edits a Commentary on European Law and has regularly published on matters of European, constitutional and environmental law.
Gerhard van der Schyff is an Associate Professor in the Department of Public Law and Governance at Tilburg Law School in the Netherlands. His research interests cover European and comparative constitutional law and fundamental rights. Gerhard's research has been referred to in various (minority) opinions, including by the European Court of Human Rights and the Supreme Court of Appeal of South Africa. In 2015, he held a Humboldt Fellowship for Experienced Researchers at the Chair of Professor Christian Calliess at the Freie Universität Berlin.