Conformity, Negotiation and Pro-activity Towards a 'Memory of Belonging': The Cases of Southern and Eastern European EU Accession

The aim of this paper is to shed light on the factors and outcomes of three main mechanisms of analysis: conformity, within the 'club logic' of EU institutional frameworks and norms; the negotiating power of candidate countries to shape their evolving memory of returning and belonging to Europe and, the role of proactivity and concrete initiatives on behalf of candidate countries to change a predetermined course of action. Since both regional blocs were experiencing crucial internal and external pressures to enact a 'memory of belonging', this paper will emphasise the transfer of lessons from the experience of Southern Enlargement to CEECs accession negotiations, highlighting the ways in which this input was reintegrated in new identity-building and post-transitional legitimating challenges.