The enlargement of the European Union on 1 May 2004 to bring in ten new Member States, eight of which are in Central and Eastern Europe, marked a historical shift in the EU. No longer could it be seen as primarily a creature of Western Europe (plus elements of Southern Europe). On the contrary, the tumultuous events which accompanied the ending of the Cold War, including the break-up of several federations (Soviet Union, Yugoslavia and Czechoslovakia) opened the way for the EU to become something much closer to a pan-European polity.

Accession involves constitutional change, both on the part of the EU and on the part of the acceding state or states. This study by Anneli Albi comprises the first full length study of the impact of accession upon the constitutions of the acceding states. Although the perspective is primarily a bottom-up one, looking at the constitutional change in terms of what were essentially ‘new’ and relatively ‘closed’ constitutions of the post-Communist era, Albi also brings in constitutional change – EU-style – in the form of the Constitutional Treaty signed in Rome on 29 October 2004, and due in turn for ratification in each of the twenty-five Member States. It is clear that change and adjustment, including formal constitutional amendment but also involving the role of numerous judicial actors, especially constitutional courts, will continue for the foreseeable future as the EU enters the critical post-enlargement stage.