Those who knock on Europe’s door must repent? Bilateral border disputes and EU enlargement

This article explores a neglected aspect of the wider debate about EU enlargement: bilateral disputes between a member state and an applicant, where the former uses, or threatens to use its membership status to block the applicant's progress in order to resolve a bilateral dispute. Through analysis of three cases – Italy and Slovenia, Slovenia and Croatia, and Greece and Macedonia – we show that the EU's transformative power does not always flow ‘outwards’ towards the state seeking membership. This raises interesting questions about enlargement as a process of international bargaining between sovereign states filtered via a supranational entity formally responsible for negotiations. The cases suggest limits to the EU's transformative power in the context of disputes that are linked to the meaning and significance of borders. It is not surprising that the European Commission prefers disputes to be resolved bilaterally or via a third party.