The political conditionality associated with EU membership was expected to serve as a panacea for the post-communist countries in Eastern Europe, ensuring sustainable democratic reforms and good governance. Between 2007 and 2012 successive country reports on Romania and Bulgaria provided familiar readings from lack of progress to lack of political will, spread across branches of power, to curb corruption. Despite the activation of safeguard clauses and the Co-operation and Verification Mechanism reform has only been superficial, confined to immediate responses to EU demands, a window-dressing strategy and a trigger of domestic political competition. This article tests literature predictions that post-accession Europeanization will stall due to the reassertion of domestic constraints and the dilution of external incentives. It focuses comparatively upon Romania and Bulgaria’s fight against corruption and organized crime. This article finds that despite the rise of anti-corruption discoursive narratives (to significant electoral success) and occasional successful judicial pursuit of corrupt practices, this has not translated into good governance or the impartial implementation of anti-corruption practices.
