The Accidental Constitution; The History of the European Convention

This book tells the story of a great experiment. For sixteen and a half months a Convention of two hundred and seven mend and women from twenty eight sovereign states met in Brussels to fashion a constitution for the European Unin. Blending narrative and analysis, Peter Norman tracks the twists and turns that led to a draft constitutional treaty. It is a tale of people and policies, but above all of the unexpected, which is why the book is called "The Accidental Constitution". Peter Norman is uniquely qualified to explain the European Convention. He attended all the Convention sessions from its launch on 28 February 2002, got to know many Convention members, and reported on the Convention's development in detail fro EuroComment of Brussels. He brings to the book deep knowledge and wide-ranging experience of the European Union, gained during thirty five years as a political and economic journalist. Peter Norman was a foreign correspondent for a total of twenty two years, based at various times in Frankfurt, Bonn and Brussels for Reuters, the Times of London, the Wall Street Journal-Europe and the Financial Times. The most recent of his three assignments to Brussels was as the Financial Times Brussels Burea Chief and Chief Correspondent between November 1998 and March 2002. He currently lives in London where he contributes leaders to the Financial Times.