The Impacts of EU Accession on Post-communist Constitutionalism

One of the persistent fears regarding the accession countries envisions that these countries will not catch up with the prevailing practices of constitutionalism and the rule of law that allegedly constitute the common tradition of Europe. It is believed, and in many regards rightly so, that accession to the Union will push Eastern Europe towards the values and institutional settings of modernity. Given the process and political consequences of the accession, as well as for other, historical and cultural reasons, the short term modernization effects of the membership might be limited, even counterproductive. This paper discusses the impact of the current "Europeanization" on the public understanding and institutional structures of constitutional democracy in the new member states. Further, it evaluates the foreseeable impacts of the emerging European Constitution on the constitutional structures (the new checks and balances) in the new member states, except the human rights aspects of constitutionalism.