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7 Eur. L.J. 1 (2001)

handle is hein.journals/eurlj7 and id is 1 raw text is: European Law Journal, Vol. 7, No. 1, March 2001, pp. 1-3. () Blackwell Publishers Ltd. 2001, 108 Cowley Road, Oxford OX4 1JK, UK and 350 Main Street, Malden, MA 02148, USA Editorial Francis Snyder Is Nice a nice Treaty? Overall, measured in terms of ideals for institutional reform and economic and social integration, the outcome of the summit was disappointing. Nevertheless, amidst the details of negotiation, compromise, and opportunities lost, several overriding points stand out. The most evident is public recognition of the central role of Germany. The largest country in terms of population, Germany is the most important contributor to the budget, a major determinant of economic and monetary policy, and one of the basic sources of EU legal principles and legal culture. Soon it will be at the geographical heart of today's European Union. A dose of political realism, the recognition of Germany as the main player in European integration, though resisted, countered, and even blunted in its public expression, emerges clearly from Nice. Another key point is the openness of the EU to enlargement. The Nice Summit sent a clear message to the candidate countries that enlargement will definitely happen, and soon. The necessary institutional reforms have not yet all been agreed, but it is clear that enlargement will go ahead. Institutional reforms, if they are made at all, will unfortunately now have to be negotiated under great pressure at the last minute, but this seems to be the EU style. Intense pressure for institutional reform is not, however, the only implication of enlargement. Enlargement means an inevitable change in the shape of European integration: not simply geographical shape, but more crucially legal, political, economic and social shape. It means a more diverse EU, in which the drift of events probably implies greater decentralisation and looser integration unless a great deal of imagination, influence and power is brought to bear on the legal and political structures of the EU and its Member States to produce a conjunction of unity and diversity that is socially legitimate and politically manageable. A third important element of Nice is the Charter of Fundamental Rights. Arguably not necessary and perhaps even superfluous from the legal standpoint, and the product of many compromises, the Charter nevertheless has a significance, first in its potentially great symbolic value, and second as a further step or marker of the political and legal progress of European integration. In addition, it is likely, even in its current form, to have a very important effect on EU law and politics, both within the EU as it currently stands, and in the process of enlargement and in the relations with other countries. These three outcomes of Nice-the recognition of Germany, the imminence of enlargement, and the statement of fundamental rights-are intimately interrelated in the EU of today. It will be interesting to see in a few years, with the benefit of hindsight, if these same points remain as salient as they are now. For the time being, these important developments shift the agenda of the EU in ways that need to be taken fully into account in teaching, research, and practice in EU law. Some of the questions

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