Ein verpasster Verfassungsmoment

In the crisis of 1989/90, the negotiations on the Maastricht Treaty offered ideal conditions for a European constitutional moment. But the public debate remained fragmented and focused on national interests — not least because of intergovernmental procedures, which gave more news value to the diplomatic context than to the constitutional content of the reform. With a detailed examination of the German, French and British press debates on this issue, this book provides empirical insights into a key phase of EU integration. Moreover, it offers analytical re-conceptualisation of the conditions of a European public sphere and of the relationship between political procedures and discourse structures.