This article analyses the making of the European Charter of Fundamental Rights as an example of European treaty-making. Using a structural constructivist approach, the article examines the treaty negotiation process as both a long-term and short-term process. In terms of a short-term process, the analysis highlights the efforts made at establishing a new framework of bargaining in the form of a Convention. In respect to the charter in the longue durée, the article emphasizes two preexisting social and political structures: the already existing field of human rights and the established practices of EU treaty negotiation. The article generally argues that these pre-existing structures and practices had considerable impact on both the proceedings and the outcomes.