Serbia's constitution does not promote the idea of a civil state, but the state of Serbs and other minorities, which will draw Serbia further away from the European Union, Rhodes said. The new constitution regulates that the judiciary be under the control of the government and parliament and it will be difficult to integrate international agreements in the national legislation, Rhodes said.
B 92 cited Rhodes as saying that the new constitution was full of contradictory statements when it came to the issues of minority rights and religious freedoms.
The rights are guaranteed but parliament can revoke them whenever it wants, he said. The constitution is a recipe for a centralised system and international experience have taught us that issues are being solved by the decentralisation, Rhodes stressed.
A referendum on Serbia's constitution declaring Kosovo part of this Balkan state, will be held on 17 and 28 October.