CIAO DATE: 04/05

New Constitutional Position of the Army

Abstract

Unwilling to establish the principles of future relations in the joint state, the heads of the Federal, Serbian, and Montenegrin authorities, after being pressured by the European Union (EU), finally signed the Belgrade Agreement1. Afterwards, they began to draft the Constitutional Charter of the joint state of Serbia and Montenegro. The entire project is based upon the supposition that this supra-national creation will only have delegated powers agreed to by member states. This infers that the Union will not have original sovereignty; rather Serbia and Montenegro will have it. The implementation of this solution will sever all ties with the federal organization of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (FRY) and its predecessors, only simplifying matters, as Montenegro has already unilaterally excluded itself from the authority of federal bodies, and in that way, has practically abolished this state.

The first disputes ensued shortly after, over the international and legal status of the future Union. Different views on the aim, the structure and authority (power) of the Union were the basis of these disputes. The Montenegrin leadership wanted to take advantage of the interregnum that ensued in order to formalize its state independence, requesting that the member states first acquire international subjectivity before uniting. Conversely, the Yugoslav President Vojislav Kostunica and the Democratic Party of Serbia (DSS), together with the Montenegrin coalition "Together for Yugoslavia," requested that the Union be the only participant in international relations. However, they did not contest the members' right of independent international cooperation. Similarly, the EU requested that its future partner be one functional entity. For this purpose, the EU Commission submitted a Proposal to the FRY authorities on elements that should be included in the Constitutional Charter.3 At the same time, it also left the local actors to define the remaining set of relations by agreement and according to each one's needs.

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