Preparation of National Constitutions of Candidate Countries for Accession

Abstract

In most candidate countries, enlargement will contribute most likely to the constitutional modernization of the country. The EU accession will be a fundamental landmark in this respect. This will especially concern the implications of their membership for the national constitutional provisions concerning, among others, the principle of the transfer of the exercise of certain state powers to the EU deriving from national state sovereignty, supremacy, primacy, priority, direct applicability and direct effect of community law, specific provisions of the EU and EC Treaty regarding European citizenship, voting rights etc., as well as specific provisions in national constitutions which contradict the acquis communautaire, such as acquisition of land and realestate by non-residents, extradition of own nationals etc. This paper outlines some of the major problems of a new constitutional design in accession countries.

Keywords

• accession
• acquis communautaire
• candidate countries
• community law
• constitution