The Identity of Europe's Constitution(s)

Three different questions can be posed about identity and constitutions in Europe and the European constitution: What identifies a constitutional order? What is the identity of a constitutional order? What identity does a constitution confer? As the last question is discussed in greater detail in separate contributions, I focus mainly on the first two questions, and of these, in particular on the second question: the identity of a constitutional order. I take my cue in the two very different, and at first sight somewhat puzzling responses of the national electorates of France and the Netherlands to the question of whether a European Constitution is essential to the construction of Europe. This difference reflects a difference in understanding the meaning of constitutions/Constitutions. I reflect on two ideal types of constitutions we can identify in Europe, and how these relate to the constitutional order of the European Union. Central in this pursuit is the question: what kind of constitutional order is the European constitution?