"Sixty years after the entry into force of the Basic Law the world is much more interdependent. The concepts of statehood and sovereignty have changed. The following contribution examines how the Basic Law, as amended and interpreted by the Federal Constitutional Court, deals with this development. As a foundational matter, the Basic Law contains a commitment towards integration, although sixty years ago integration largely was seen as a promise. Now, 60 years later, the Federal Constitutional Court is developing limits to integration and recently ruled out Germany's participation in a European Federal State and sees itself as the guardian of German sovereignty. A change of paradigms seems to have taken place. For the founding fathers and mothers, a united - possibly even federal - Europe was considered to be the solution to protect against war and relapse towards an undemocratic, terroristic regime. But now the Federal Constitutional Court feels compelled to protect democracy and the core values of the Basic Law against "too much" European integration.

The 60th birthday of the Basic Law thus invites us to consider Germany's constitutional law of supranational integration in context. The movement from an emphasis on integration towards protection of sovereignty is a reaction to the success and density of European integration, but also to Germany's growing importance within the broader world community of states. I will take the 60th birthday of the Basic Law as an opportunity to recall the open and integration?friendly spirit in which it was drafted and use that as a background for present approaches.
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