Constitutionalism and Federalism. Does the Supremacy Clause Define the Federal Character of the European Union? Cover Image

Konstitucionalizam i federalizam. Određuje li klauzula o supremaciji federalni karakter Europske Unije?
Constitutionalism and Federalism. Does the Supremacy Clause Define the Federal Character of the European Union?

Author(s): Petar Bačić, Arsen Bačić
Subject(s): Government/Political systems, International relations/trade, EU-Accession / EU-DEvelopment
Published by: Fakultet političkih znanosti u Zagrebu
Keywords: federalism; supremacy clause; American federalism; federalism and the EU

Summary/Abstract: Considering over half a century of Croatian existence within the Yugoslav Federation, there are sound reasons to assume that its citizens are able to identify the tendencies in complex state unions aiming to weaken its political position and interests. Soon after the accession of the Republic of Croatia to the European Union it is legitimate to ask a question concerning the potential critical points and weak links in the co-ordinates of the new European partnership with Croatia. In other words, is there a possibility of appearance within the EU of a rigid conception of a federal relationship in which the overall formal and factual predominance "of the centre over the periphery" wood sooner or later pressure any younger members to withdraw from this large Union? The authors consider the ratio of the supremacy clause as an instrument of constitutional and legal arsenal for addressing the relationship between federalism and democracy in any associative project, and hence also in this one at the EU level. Comparing the supremacy clause that was included in the US Constitution (1789) as a compromise between small and large states with some European solutions, the authors are wondering on the objectives and the character of similar formulae against the backdrop of the European context.

  • Issue Year: 1/2015
  • Issue No: 1
  • Page Range: 59-79
  • Page Count: 21
  • Language: Croatian