Party Positions on the European Constitution During the 2004 European Parliament Elections

The salience assigned to the European Constitution and the positions on it taken by national parties during the 2004 European Parliament elections are the focus of this paper. To explore these issues, we use party manifestos, expert data on party positions, and public opinion survey data from Eurobarometer. Through content analysis of the manifestos we find that the Constitution has been politicised and contested. In countries where the issue has been put in the spotlight by one or more parties, other parties also have had to take a position. The positions parties have taken on the Constitution are related to their overall position on European integration, whether or not they participated in the Constitutional Convention, and their left/right stance.