Constitutional Implications of the Negotiations on Serbia’s Membership in the European Union

Stanković, Nevena (2022) Constitutional Implications of the Negotiations on Serbia’s Membership in the European Union. In: International Organizations: Serbia and Contemporary World. Institute of International Politics and Economics; Faculty of Philosophy of the University of St. Cyril and Methodius, Belgrade; Skopje, pp. 505-520. ISBN 978-86-7067-305-2

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Abstract

The European integration process of the Republic of Serbia has raised the issue of amendments to the Constitution of the Republic of Serbia of 2006. The experience of EU member states shows that constitutional changes, as part of the EU membership negotiation process as a whole, are expected and inevitable. Such amendments mainly concern the transposition of the so-called integrative clause into national constitutions, including modifications of the constitutional provisions necessary for harmonization with the obligations arising from EU membership. Furthermore, after joining the EU, it could become necessary to make amendments to the Constitution of the member state in accordance with the changes in the functioning of the EU. In that context, the change to the Constitution of the Republic of Serbia is perceived as a necessary step in the further strengthening of the rule of law as well as in further harmonization with the acquis communautaire and EU standards. Following the current foreign policy orientation of the Republic of Serbia, in which EU accession is proclaimed the state’s strategic priority, the author analyzes the reasons for making amendments to the Constitution of the Republic of Serbia of 2006, the types of constitutional amendments that can be expected in that context, as well as the main challenges and modalities for their successful overcoming. In June 2021, the National Assembly of the Republic of Serbia formally initiated the procedure of changing the Constitution, and in September, the first official version of the text was determined and sent to the Venice Commission for an opinion. Additionally, the specificity of the negotiation process of the Republic of Serbia, which places the dialogue between the representatives of the authorities in Belgrade and Priština in the context of European integration, makes the issue of potential amendments to the Constitution in public discourse even more intriguing and controversial. The key research methods in the paper refer to content analysis of the relevant documents and discourse analysis.

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