European Union vs. Serbia
Government
| European Union | Serbia | |
|---|---|---|
| Capital | name: Brussels (Belgium), Strasbourg (France), Luxembourg, Frankfurt (Germany); note - the European Council, a gathering of the EU heads of state and/or government, and the Council of the European Union, a ministerial-level body of ten formations, meet in Brussels, Belgium, except for Council meetings held in Luxembourg in April, June, and October; the European Parliament meets in Brussels and Strasbourg, France, and has administrative offices in Luxembourg; the Court of Justice of the European Union is located in Luxembourg; and the European Central Bank is located in Frankfurt, Germany geographic coordinates: (Brussels) 50 50 N, 4 20 E time difference: UTC+1 (6 hours ahead of Washington, DC, during Standard Time) daylight saving time: +1hr, begins last Sunday in March; ends last Sunday in October note: the 27 European Union countries spread across three time zones; a proposal has been put forward to do away with daylight savings time in all EU countries | name: Belgrade (Beograd) geographic coordinates: 44 50 N, 20 30 E time difference: UTC+1 (6 hours ahead of Washington, DC, during Standard Time) daylight saving time: +1hr, begins last Sunday in March; ends last Sunday in October etymology: the Serbian "Beograd" means "white fortress" or "white city" and dates back to the 9th century; the name derives from the white fortress wall that once enclosed the city |
| Independence | 7 February 1992 (Maastricht Treaty signed establishing the European Union); 1 November 1993 (Maastricht Treaty entered into force) note: the Treaties of Rome, signed on 25 March 1957 and subsequently entered into force on 1 January 1958, created the European Economic Community and the European Atomic Energy Community; a series of subsequent treaties have been adopted to increase efficiency and transparency, to prepare for new member states, and to introduce new areas of cooperation - such as a single currency; the Treaty of Lisbon, signed on 13 December 2007 and entered into force on 1 December 2009 is the most recent of these treaties and is intended to make the EU more democratic, more efficient, and better able to address global problems with one voice | 5 June 2006 (from the State Union of Serbia and Montenegro); notable earlier dates: 1217 (Serbian Kingdom established); 16 April 1346 (Serbian Empire established); 13 July 1878 (Congress of Berlin recognizes Serbian independence); 1 December 1918 (Kingdom of Serbs, Croats, and Slovenes (Yugoslavia) established) |
| National holiday | Europe Day (also known as Schuman Day), 9 May (1950); note - the day in 1950 that Robert SCHUMAN proposed the creation of what became the European Coal and Steel Community, the progenitor of today's European Union, with the aim of achieving a united Europe | Statehood Day, 15 February (1835), the day the first constitution of the country was adopted |
| Constitution | history: none; note - the EU legal order relies primarily on two consolidated texts encompassing all provisions as amended from a series of past treaties: the Treaty on European Union (TEU), as modified by the 2009 Lisbon Treaty states in Article 1 that "the HIGH CONTRACTING PARTIES establish among themselves a EUROPEAN UNION ... on which the Member States confer competences to attain objectives they have in common"; Article 1 of the TEU states further that the EU is "founded on the present Treaty and on the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (hereinafter referred to as 'the Treaties')," both possessing the same legal value; Article 6 of the TEU provides that a separately adopted Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union "shall have the same legal value as the Treaties" amendments: European Union treaties can be amended in several ways: 1) Ordinary Revision Procedure (for key amendments to the treaties); initiated by an EU country's government, by the European Parliament, or by the European Commission; following adoption of the proposal by the European Council, a convention is formed of national government representatives to review the proposal and subsequently a conference of government representatives also reviews the proposal; passage requires ratification by all EU countries; 2) Simplified Revision Procedure (for amendment of EU internal policies and actions); passage of a proposal requires unanimous European Council vote following European Council consultation with the European Commission, the European Parliament, and the European Central Bank (if the amendment concerns monetary matters) and requires ratification by all EU countries; 3) Passerelle Clause (allows the alteration of a legislative procedure without a formal amendment of the treaties); 4) Flexibility Clause (permits the EU to decide in subject areas where EU competences have not been explicitly granted in the Treaties but are necessary to the attainment of the objectives set out in the Treaty); note - the Treaty of Lisbon (signed in December 2007 and effective in December 2009) amended the two treaties that formed the EU - the Maastricht Treaty (1993) and the Treaty of Rome (1958), known in updated form as the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union | history: many previous; latest adopted 30 September 2006, approved by referendum 28-29 October 2006, effective 8 November 2006 amendments: proposed by at least one third of deputies in the National Assembly, by the president of the republic, by the government, or by petition of at least 150,000 voters; passage of proposals and draft amendments each requires at least two-thirds majority vote in the Assembly; amendments to constitutional articles including the preamble, constitutional principles, and human and minority rights and freedoms also require passage by simple majority vote in a referendum |
| Legal system | unique supranational law system in which, according to an interpretive declaration of member-state governments appended to the Treaty of Lisbon, "the Treaties and the law adopted by the Union on the basis of the Treaties have primacy over the law of Member States" under conditions laid down in the case law of the Court of Justice; key principles of EU law include fundamental rights as guaranteed by the Charter of Fundamental Rights and as resulting from constitutional traditions common to the EU's 27-member states; EU law is divided into 'primary' and 'secondary' legislation; primary legislation is derived from the consolidated versions of the Treaty on European Union and the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union and are the basis for all EU action; secondary legislation - which includes directives, regulations, and decisions - is derived from the principles and objectives set out in the treaties | civil law system |
| Suffrage | 18 years of age (16 years in Austria); universal; voting for the European Parliament is permitted in each member state | 18 years of age, 16 if employed; universal |
| Executive branch | under the EU treaties there are three distinct institutions, each of which conducts functions that may be regarded as executive in nature: note: for external representation and foreign policy making, leaders of the EU member states appointed Joseph BORRELL (Spain) as the High Representative of the European Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy; BORRELL took office on 1 December 2019, succeeding Federica MOGHERINI (Italy (2014 - 2019); the High Representative's concurrent appointment as Vice President of the European Commission was meant to bring more coherence to the EU's foreign policy (horizontally, between policies managed by the Commission that are particularly relevant for EU external relations, such as trade, humanitarian aid and crisis management, neighborhood policy and enlargement; and vertically, between national capitals and the EU); the High Representative helps develop and implement the EU's Common Foreign and Security Policy and Common Security and Defense Policy components, chairs the Foreign Affairs Council, represents and acts for the Union in many international contexts, and oversees the European External Action Service, the diplomatic corps of the EU, established on 1 December 2010 | chief of state: President Aleksandar VUCIC (since 31 May 2017) head of government: Prime Minister Ana BRNABIC (since 29 June 2017) cabinet: Cabinet elected by the National Assembly elections/appointments: president directly elected by absolute majority popular vote in 2 rounds if needed for a 5-year term (eligible for a second term); election last held on 2 April 2017 (next to be held in 2022); prime minister elected by the National Assembly election results: Aleksandar VUCIC elected president in the first round; percent of vote - Aleksandar VUCIC (SNS) 55.1%, Sasa JANKOVIC (independent) 16.4%, Luka MAKSIMOVIC (independent) 9.4%, Vuk JEREMIC (independent) 5.7%, Vojislav SESELJ (SRS) 4.5%, Bosko OBRADOVIC (Dveri) 2.3%, other 5.0%, invalid/blank 1.6%; Prime Minister Ana BRNABIC reelected by the National Assembly on 5 October 2020 |
| Legislative branch | description: two legislative bodies consisting of the Council of the European Union (27 seats; ministers representing the 27 member states) and the European Parliament (705 seats; seats allocated among member states roughly in proportion to population size; members elected by proportional representation to serve 5-year terms); note - the European Parliament President, David SASSOLI (Italian center-left), was elected in July 2019 by a majority of fellow members of the European Parliament (MEPs) and represents the Parliament within the EU and internationally; the Council of the EU and the MEPs share responsibilities for adopting the bulk of EU legislation, normally acting in co-decision on Commission proposals (but not in the area of Common Foreign and Security Policy, which is governed by consensus of the EU member state governments) elections: last held on 23-26 May 2019 (next to be held May 2024) election results: percent of vote - NA; seats by party (as of 31 January 2020) - EPP 187, S&D 148, ALDE/EDP 97, ID 76, Greens/EFA 67, ECR 59, GUE-NGL 40, non-inscripts 31; composition - NA | description: unicameral National Assembly or Narodna Skupstina (250 seats; members directly elected by party list proportional representation vote in a single nationwide constituency to serve 4-year terms) elections: last held on 21 June 2020 (originally scheduled for 26 April 2020 but postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic) (next to be held in 2024) election results: percent of vote by party/coalition - For Our Children 60.7%, SPS-JS 10.4%, SPAS 3.8%, SVM 2.2%, Straight Ahead 1%, Albanian Democratic Alternative .8%, SDA .8%, other 20.3%; seats by party/coalition For Our Children 188, SPS-JS 32, SPAS 11, SVM 9, Straight Ahead 4, Albanian Democratic Alternative 3, SDA 3; composition (preliminary) - men 165, women 85, percent of women 30% note: seats by party as of May 2019 - SNS 91, SRS 22, SPS 20, DS 13, SDPS 10, PUPS 9, Dveri 6, JS 6, LDP 4, SDS 4, SVM 4, other 36, independent 25; composition - men 157, women 93, percent of women 37.2% |
| Judicial branch | highest courts: Court of Justice of the European Union, which includes the Court of Justice (informally known as the European Court of Justice or ECJ) and the General Court (consists of 27 judges, one drawn from each member state; the ECJ includes 11 Advocates General while the General Court can include additional judges; both the ECJ and the General Court may sit in a "Grand Chamber" of 15 judges in special cases but usually in chambers of 3 to 5 judges judge selection and term of office: judges appointed by the common consent of the member states to serve 6-year renewable terms note: the ECJ is the supreme judicial authority of the EU; it ensures that EU law is interpreted and applied uniformly throughout the EU, resolves disputed issues among the EU institutions and with member states, and reviews issues and opinions regarding questions of EU law referred by member state courts | highest courts: Supreme Court of Cassation (consists of 36 judges, including the court president); Constitutional Court (consists of 15 judges, including the court president and vice president) judge selection and term of office: Supreme Court justices proposed by the High Judicial Council (HJC), an 11-member independent body consisting of 8 judges elected by the National Assembly and 3 ex-officio members; justices appointed by the National Assembly; Constitutional Court judges elected - 5 each by the National Assembly, the president, and the Supreme Court of Cassation; initial appointment of Supreme Court judges by the HJC is 3 years and beyond that period tenure is permanent; Constitutional Court judges elected for 9-year terms subordinate courts: basic courts, higher courts, appellate courts; courts of special jurisdiction include the Administrative Court, commercial courts, and misdemeanor courts |
| Political parties and leaders | European United Left-Nordic Green Left or GUE/NGL [Manon AUBRY and Martin SCHIRDEWAN] European Conservatives and Reformists or ECR [Raffaele FITTO and Ryszard LEGUTKO] European Greens/European Free Alliance or Greens/EFA [Ska KELLER, Philippe LAMBERTS] European People's Party or EPP [Manfred WEBER] Identity and Democracy Party or ID [Marco ZANNI] Progressive Alliance of Socialists and Democrats or S&D [Iratxe PEREZ] Renew Europe - RE (successor to Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe or ALDE) [Dacian CIOLOS] | Albanian Democratic Alternative (coalition of ethnic Albanian parties) Shaip KAMBERI Alliance of Vojvodina Hungarians or SVM [Istvan PASZTOR] Democratic Party or DS [Zoran LUTOVAC] Democratic Party of Macedonians or DPM [Nenad KRSTESKI] Democratic Party of Serbia or DSS [Milos JOVANOVIC] Dveri [Bosko OBRADOVIC] For Our Children (electoral alliance includes SNS, PS, PUPS, PSS, SNP, SPO, NSS) [Aleksandar VUCIC] Justice and Reconciliation Party or SPP [Muamer ZUKORLIC] (formerly Bosniak Democratic Union of Sandzak or BDZS) Movement of Socialists or PS [Aleksandar VULIN] Party of Democratic Action of the Sandzak or SDA [Sulejman UGLJANIN] Party of United Pensioners of Serbia or PUPS [Milan KRKOBABIC] People's Party or NARODNA [Vuk JEREMIC] People's Peasant Party or NSS [Marijan RISTICEVIC] Serbian Patriotic Alliance or SPAS [Aleksandar SAPIC] Serbian People's Party or SNP [Nenad POPOVIC] Serbian Progressive Party or SNS [Aleksandar VUCIC] Serbian Radical Party or SRS [Vojislav SESELJ] Serbian Renewal Movement or SPO [Vuk DRASKOVIC] Social Democratic Party or SDS [Boris TADIC] Social Democratic Party of Serbia or SDPS [Rasim LJAJIC] Socialist Party of Serbia or SPS [Ivica DACIC] Straight Ahead (electoral coalition includes SPP, DPM) Strength of Serbia or PSS [Bogoljub KARIC] Together for Serbia or ZZS [Nebojsa ZELENOVIC] United Serbia or JS [Dragan MARKOVIC] note: Serbia has more than 110 registered political parties and citizens' associations |
| International organization participation | ARF, ASEAN (dialogue member), Australian Group, BIS, BSEC (observer), CBSS, CERN, EBRD, FAO, FATF, G-8, G-10, G-20, IDA, IEA, IGAD (partners), LAIA (observer), NSG (observer), OAS (observer), OECD, PIF (partner), SAARC (observer), SICA (observer), UN (observer), UNRWA (observer), WCO, WTO, ZC (observer) | BIS, BSEC, CD, CE, CEI, EAPC, EBRD, EU (candidate country), FAO, G-9, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC (national committees), ICCt, ICRM, IDA, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, IMSO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, IPU, ISO, ITSO, ITU, ITUC (NGOs), MIGA, MONUSCO, NAM (observer), NSG, OAS (observer), OIF (observer), OPCW, OSCE, PCA, PFP, SELEC, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNFICYP, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNIFIL, UNMIL, UNOCI, UNTSO, UNWTO, UPU, WCO, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO (observer) |
| Diplomatic representation in the US | chief of mission: Ambassador Stavros LAMBRINIDIS (since 1 March 2019) chancery: 2175 K Street, NW, Suite 800, Washington, DC 20037 telephone: [1] (202) 862-9500 FAX: [1] (202) 429-1766 | chief of mission: Ambassador Marko DJURIC (since 18 January 2021) chancery: 2233 Wisconsin Ave NW, Suite 410, Washington, DC 20007 telephone: [1] (202) 332-0333 FAX: [1] (202) 332-3933 email address and website: info@serbiaembusa.org http://www.washington.mfa.gov.rs/ consulate(s) general: Chicago, New York |
| Diplomatic representation from the US | chief of mission: Ambassador (Vacant); Charge D' Affaires Kelly Adams-Smith (since 1 July 2021) embassy: Zinnerstraat - 13 - Rue Zinner, B-1000 Brussels mailing address: use embassy street address telephone: [32] (2) 811-4100 email address and website: https://useu.usmission.gov/ | chief of mission: Ambassador Anthony GODFREY (since 24 October 2019) embassy: 92 Bulevar kneza Aleksandra Karadjordjevica, 11040 Belgrade mailing address: 5070 Belgrade Place, Washington, DC 20521-5070 telephone: [381] (11) 706-4000 FAX: [381] (11) 706-4481 email address and website: belgradeacs@state.gov https://rs.usembassy.gov/ |
| Flag description | a blue field with 12 five-pointed gold stars arranged in a circle in the center; blue represents the sky of the Western world, the stars are the peoples of Europe in a circle, a symbol of unity; the number of stars is fixed | three equal horizontal stripes of red (top), blue, and white - the Pan-Slav colors representing freedom and revolutionary ideals; charged with the coat of arms of Serbia shifted slightly to the hoist side; the principal field of the coat of arms represents the Serbian state and displays a white two-headed eagle on a red shield; a smaller red shield on the eagle represents the Serbian nation, and is divided into four quarters by a white cross; interpretations vary as to the meaning and origin of the white, curved symbols resembling firesteels (fire strikers) or Cyrillic "C's" in each quarter; a royal crown surmounts the coat of arms note: the Pan-Slav colors were inspired by the 19th-century flag of Russia |
| National anthem | name: Ode to Joy lyrics/music: no lyrics/Ludwig VAN BEETHOVEN, arranged by Herbert VON KARAJAN note: official EU anthem since 1985; the anthem is meant to represent all of Europe rather than just the organization, conveying ideas of peace, freedom, and unity | name: "Boze pravde" (God of Justice) lyrics/music: Jovan DORDEVIC/Davorin JENKO note: adopted 1904; song originally written as part of a play in 1872 and has been used as an anthem by the Serbian people throughout the 20th and 21st centuries |
| National symbol(s) | a circle of 12, five-pointed, golden yellow stars on a blue field; union colors: blue, yellow | white double-headed eagle; national colors: red, blue, white |
Source: CIA Factbook
