The EU's Constitutional Treaty: Federalism and Intergovernmental Relations - Lessons from Canada

As the European Union has sought to develop a political and cultural personality beyond mere trade and regulatory harmonization, the modern federal model has an obvious appeal. Federalism's advantages for diverse or widely dispersed populations have always included the notion of legitimate shared rule as well as scope for local autonomy. Intergovernmental relations like those in Canada can emerge when governments enjoy relative autonomy yet are obliged by the complexities of modern governing to consult and collaborate in order to be more effective within their own spheres of jurisdiction. This article examines a number of the provisions in the EU's Constitutional Treaty and measures them against traditional notions of federalism and federal constitutionalism. On the basis of these criteria, many of the provisions of the Constitutional Treaty are found wanting. An examination of the practice and experience of Canadian federalism further demonstrates the problems to which these provisions might lead.