why does the EU not have a constitution? How can we understand the treaty of lisbon?

European Union: Constitution and Lisbon Treaty
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European Union: Constitution and Lisbon Treaty
Since its inception in 1951 as the European Coal and Steel Community, member states of the European Union (EU) have endeavored to promote cooperation and integration. This attempt has been made possible through the endorsement of numerous treaties designed to govern member states. Nonetheless, the intricacies and bulk of legislation make policymaking an uphill task, resulting in confusions and difficulties in operating institutions. For some, this huddles could be overcome by consolidating all the EU treaties in one concise document to form a constitution. While this view is widely held by the majority of member states, the EU still lacks a working constitution. Herein, a brief discussion covers why the EU has no constitution. Subsequently, an analysis of the Lisbon Treaty will follow, in an attempt to comprehend it.
Why the EU Lacks a Constitution
The argument for an EU constitution is that it will streamline legislation processes and improve the efficiency of institutions. Nonetheless, efforts to draft and ratify a common constitution for all EU members have been futile. The Constitutional Treaty was the closest the EU came to having a unified body of law. The drafting of the European Constitutional Treaty (ECT) began in December 2001, following the Laeken Declaration CITATION Too10 l 2057 (Toops, 2010). The objective, to unite previous treaties in an abridged document that would dictate the organization, processes, and competencies of the EU.

The drafting process took two years and produced a 250-long page document. While it was perceived that the document would be approved by all member states, referendums in the respective countries showed otherwise. In fact, France and the Netherlands rejected this document, which led to the indefinite postponement of the constitutional project CITATION Too10 l 2057 (Toops, 2010).
The failure of the ECT could be attributed to a number of factors. To begin with, the proposed constitution is longer and more complex than national ones. Toops (2010) argues that the length and complexity of the document would make it particularly difficult to comprehend, and as a result, reduce its effectiveness and ratification success rate. An alternative argument is based on the lack of European demos. There is a distinction in the manner in which Westerners and Europeans perceive the state. According to Shaw (2000), the EU lacks individuals with a cohesive identity, an essential requirement in realizing a constitutional vision.
Understanding the Lisbon Treaty
The Lisbon Treaty is a continuation of the ECT, effected on December 2009 CITATION Eur18 l 2057 (European Union, 2018). Church and Phinnemore (2010) note that the Lisbon Treaty was established to address the three major grounds on which the ECT was rejected. These three are status, composition, and form CITATION Chu10 l 2057 (Church & Phinnemore, 2010). According to the European Union (2018) factsheet, the Lisbon Treaty preserves a great amount of the ECT achievements. The major changes of this accord deal with the manner in which the EU utilizes its powers by encouraging citizen participation and augmenting their protection. This enhancement promotes transparency and scrutiny promoting democracy in the region. Additionally, the treaty categorizes the EU competencies into three groups: exclusive, shared and supporting. These competencies dictate policymaking. Moreover, the accord presents the EU as a full legal entity and also presents procedures for countries wishing to leave the organization CITATION Eur18 l 2057 (European Union, 2018).
Conclusion
A European Constitution holds unfathomable prospective to progress democracy and streamline operation of institutions in the EU. Nevertheless, the vision for a unifying body of law has been futile. The failure to come up with a common constitution reveals the intricacies of policymaking of such magnitude, particularly in a diversified region. While the Lisbon Treaty is in effect and borrows much from the ECT, it is not synonymous, in its function and status, with a constitution. The decade-long process of coming up with a constitution, coupled to the numerous hurdles encountered have dramatically reduced the likelihood of realizing an EU Constitution.

References
BIBLIOGRAPHY Church, C. H., & Phinnemore, D. (2010). Understanding The Treaty Of Lisbon. Romanian Journal of European Affairs, 10(2), 5-29.
European Union. (2018). Fact Sheets on the European Union: The Treaty Of Lisbon. European Union.
Shaw, J. (2000). Process and Constitutional Discourse in the European Union. Journal of Law And Society, 27(1), 4-37.
Toops, E. E. (2010). Why is there No EU Constitution? An Analysis of Institutional Constitution-Making in the European Union . CUREJ – College Undergraduate Research Electronic Journal, 3-105.