Constitutional change in light of European Union membership : trends and trajectories in the new member states

Constitutional change can be achieved either by changing the explicit wording of the constitutional document, or by way of changing the meaning of the constitution while leaving the constitutional text unaltered. This study systematically compares the use of these different modes of constitutional change in the new EU member states. The results show that implicit constitutional change is the more frequently used method, but also reveal substantial differences between member states. By comparing constitutional change trajectories in the Baltic States, this study reveals that public opinion, constitutional rigidity and constitutional courts stand out as important determinants for EU-induced constitutional change.