Међународна трговина, животна средина и европске интеграције Републике Србије
International trade, enviornment and european integration of the Republic of Serbia

Summary/Abstract: The paper aims to examine the existence of overlapping conditions for the membership of the Republic of Serbia (RS)in the World Trade Organization (WTO) and the European Union (EU) regarding trade and environment. In its first part, the paper points to key issues of the importance for understanding the relationship between trade and environment, i.e. trade measures and environmental protection measures. Several elements of interweaving are noted. Particular emphasis is placed on the overlapping elements of the normative character, whose basis can be found in the documents of the WTO and can be derived from the relevant international environmental agreements. The paper provides an overview of the most important provisions of the relevant WTO documents of importance for the environment. Additionally, the relevance of certain international agreements in the field of environment is assessed from the standpoint of their relation to the issues of international trade. Separate part of the paper examines the position of the RS in the context of acquiring membership in the WTO and the EU. The paper also points to the European Commission’s annual progress report for Serbia. In this respect, in addition to the assessments related to the Chapter “Environment and Climate Change”, evaluation related to the Chapter “Foreign Relations” relevant for the WTO membership is also made. Harmonizing legislation related to the management of genetically modified organisms takes a special place, although these issues fall within the competence of other bodies and are only partly related to the field of the environment. In this respect, the overlapping conditions for the membership in these two organizations regarding trade and environment is emphasized (membership in international agreements in the field of environment, harmonization of the part of national legislation in the field of environment and other fields).

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