УПРАВЉАЊЕ ВОДНИМ РЕСУРСИМА И ЕВРОПСКЕ ИНТЕГРАЦИЈЕ СРБИЈЕ
WATER RESOURCES MANAGEMENT AND EUROPEAN INTEGRATION OF SERBIA

Summary/Abstract: The paper points to the main elements important for understanding the obligations arising from the process of accession of the Republic of Serbia (RS) to the European Union (EU) as related to water resources management. The general framework is determined by the importance of water resources for contemporary international relations as well as the rules governing the process of harmonizing the national legislation with the EU legislation. This paper provides an overview of the most important regulations of the RS and the EU in the field of water resources management, including its status in international treaties. Drawing upon the rules governing the harmonization process, the paper provides indicators of the achieved level of compliance of national legislation with key EU regulations in the field of water resources management. The provided analysis is based on the premise that the process of joining the EU is the main factor that determines the current position and policy of RS in the field of water resources management. In that context, management of water resources falls into the group of EU regulations which are, within the framework of Chapter 27, most difficult to transpose and apply in the internal legal system. Although the process of harmonizing the national legislation with the EU legislation has been underway as regards a vast number of regulations, the process of reaching full compliance is likely to take a couple of years. Concurrently, it has been estimated that the full implementation of legislation harmonized with the EU legislation will take at least two decades, primarily due to the substantial financial resources to be invested in the development of water infrastructure. In terms of participation in the activities undertaken within the framework of international agreements in the field of water resources management and the state’s membership in relevant international treaties, it is noted that in the last decade the RS has managed to counterbalance the delay which was, for the most part, a consequence of the circumstances generated in the last decade of the 20th century. The RS is currently a state party to all the relevant international multilateral agreements in the field of water resources management, except for the New York Convention on the Law of the Non-navigational Uses of International Watercourses. However, regulation of bilateral relations with neighboring countries is still considered to be one of the issues that could be significantly improved.

• Details
• Contents