The Treaty establishing a Constitution for Europe was agreed by the Heads of State and Government of the European Union's (EU) twenty-five Member States on 18 June 2004.  The agreement was followed by a signing in Rome on the 29th October 2004. But this is not the final step - all the member states of the EU now have to ratify the Constitution according to the national procedures. In some cases this will be done through referendum in other through parliamentary approval.

Simply put, it is intended to replace all existing EU Treaties with a single consolidated document. During the process of drafting the Constitution all the previous Treaties have been amended and merged into a single document. At least on the level of clarity, this will simplify the understanding of the Union's legal basis.

The European Constitution is the outcome of a lengthy process of debate and negotiation (see section: Background).  It aims to clarify the nature of the European Union, the extent of its powers and its relationship with its Member States.  While in most policy areas it does not significantly alter the Union's existing role, it contains important innovations in several areas, including the protection of fundamental rights, combating cross-border crime, the role of national parliaments in EU affairs, voting in the EU Council, and the conduct of the Union's foreign policy.

The European Constitution is still a relatively large document and consists of four main parts:

- Part I covers the definition and objectives of the Union, fundamental rights and citizenship of the Union, the Union's competences and how they are exercised, its institutions, the democratic life of the Union, the Union's finances, its immediate environment, and membership of the Union. 

- Part II of the Constitution contains the Charter of Fundamental Rights. 

- Part III sets out in detail the Union's policy areas and other technical issues,

- Part IV deals with the Treaty establishing the European Constitution, including arrangements for ratification and future amendments.

In addition, several Protocols and Declarations are attached to the European Constitution, many of them carried over from previous Treaties.

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NOTE: Most of the information on this page is taken from the Irish Government's website.