Europeanization at the EU’s External Borders: the Case of Romanian-Moldovan Civil Society Cooperation

Since the fall of the Iron Curtain, relations between Romania and Moldova have oscillated between closeness and distance within a wider context that has seen Romania's accession to the European Union in 2007. Initial hopes for unification and Moldova's bid for joining the EU have not materialized and cooperation between the two countries today takes place within the framework of the European Neighbourhood Policy and its instruments. Civil society organizations, which have been increasingly involved in cross-border cooperation, have at the same time shifted their activities from direct aid toward advocacy for the promotion of best practices and the application of democratic principles in law and government as part of a process of Europeanization.