Ylenia Maria Citino (Sant’Anna School of Advanced Studies) presented on the topic of European clauses in the national constitutions of both current Member States and candidate states at both events held as part of the project, Polly Ruth Polak (Universidad de Salamanca) advanced her argument as to how withdrawal from the EU should be regarded as a constitutional affair, and Oliver Garner (City St George’s, University of London) considered the lessons from disintegration and disruption via opt-outs and withdrawal by the United Kingdom for the accession of Ukraine to the EU. In Pisa, John Stanton (City St George’s, University of London) and Andrea Gatti (University of Padoa) acted as discussants, focusing on the secessionist dynamics in Scotland and militant democracy at the EU level respectively.
Mi. 18 Juni 2025 – Do. 20 Nov. 2025
EU Member State withdrawal, accession, and regional secession within the supranational constitutional space
Two events, organised by alumni Ylenia Maria Citino, Oliver Garner and Polly Ruth Polak, on 18 June 2025 in Pisa and on 20 November 2025 in Barcelona
Scuola Superiore Sant'Anna, Pisa, and Open University of Catalonia
The key themes that emerged from the presentations in both Pisa and Barcelona included the shift in viewing EU participation as a matter of international law to recognising it as an object of constitutional regulation raised by Citino. European clauses may operate as a means to demonstrate commitment to integration, but also as a source of resistance. The parallels between withdrawal and secession also emerged from Polak’s and Garner’s presentations. The former argued that the unprecedented reclamation of sovereignty inherent in withdrawal means that it should be subject to regulating principles such as rule of law and democracy in the same manner as constitutional control of secession in states such as Canada. Garner noted that the current “Big Bang 2.0” enlargement is the first example of individuals seeking acquisition of European citizenship despite knowing that it is precarious and dependent upon Member Statehood of the EU. The Q&A sessions raised the themes of constitutional signalling, the perils of extending militant democracy to expulsion from the EU of backsliding Member States, the balance between sovereignty and supranational alignment, and the evolving architecture of EU membership.
Some of the salient outcomes and recommendations for the future arising from the project events include the call to understand national constitutional clauses on Europe as part of a deep constitutional layer beyond EU law, the suggestion that for future potential withdrawals from the EU the institutions should have the power to assess the validity of a notification for compliance with the EU’s values, and the possibility that differentiated integration could be utilised to accommodate possible territorial challenges for Ukraine arising out of a potential peace settlement with Russia.
The event in Pisa, on 18 June 2025, was recorded and can be re-watched here on Youtube.
