Abstract: Besides the well known inconsequence and shortsightedness of the contemporary Romanian political elites, the yet-unresolved conflict between President Traian Băsescu and Prime Minister Victor Viorel Ponta concerning the power to represent Romania at the European Council highlights also some structural problems of the constitutional theory of a “Rechtsstaat”. First, the nature and scope of the very concept of representation are to be fathomed. As in any other major constitutional issue, a discussion on methods of constitutional interpretation and on their limits is highly appropriate. Finally, an investigation on the process of crystallizing of unwritten constitutional law and on its practical effects can offer maybe not a direct and clear cut answer to the problem of representation power, but at least some elements for an epistemological framework in finding of adequate and reliable solutions.
Keywords: representation, European Council, legal dispute of constitutional nature, Romanian Constitutional Court, unwritten constitutional law, constitutional loyalty