This year and in 2006 ratification of the European Constitutional Treaty begins. In countries in which a referendum is required for ratification there is a heated debate between supporters and opponents of the draft. What is chiefly in dispute is the relative weight of social-policy provisions and market integration. For many critics the socio-political competences remain below expectations. They see a contradiction between the ritual acknowledgment of the European Social Model by state and government leaders and actual policies. In their view the constitutional treaty does not annul the imbalance between market and state. Detailed analysis of the social-policy provisions of the draft constitution bears out the critics since social policy is primarily only symbolically valued. The most important innovation consists in the acceptance of the charter of fundamental social rights. However, there is no extension of the material or decision-making competences of the European Union.

The increased heterogeneity of the EU heightens the pressure towards economic adaptation in the member states. In contrast to the relatively homogenous European Community, whose members had developed welfare states, after Eastern enlargement the EU has to deal with the integration of economically less developed states. Lower wages, low social contributions and taxes represent a competitive advantage for the new members by means of which they would like to make up their development deficit. For the EU-15 states, however, this increases the pressure on established social standards. Since both striving for rapid economic growth and the maintenance of social achievements are legitimate desires the draft constitution should have provided for mechanisms to cope with these different interests. However, the social policy competences of the EU have essentially remained unchanged and no protection has been granted to national welfare states against destructive competition. Since there was no will towards further transfer of powers flexible forms of integration should have been strengthened which would have allowed sub-groups of member states to proceed towards a social union. In its current form the draft constitution contains no adequate answer to the increasing economic and social-policy heterogeneity of the EU states.