Brussels Under Pressure

EU law is the main institutional vehicle for the establishment of the single market and, with that, Europeanization more broadly. Member states’ compliance with EU law, however, is far from guaranteed. Accordingly, a rich literature accounts for variation in compliance. While insightful, that literature subscribes to a singular perspective of how compliance pressures ‘flow’: they originate from the ‘center’ (Brussels) and ‘target’ the member states. Inspired by recent calls for spatially informed EU analyses, this chapter offers an alternative perspective: the member states can pressure a disinterested, and even resistant, EU for compliance support. Pressure flows may thus sometimes be ‘reversed’. Member states may have more agency in the process of economic integration through the application of law than hitherto recognized. Empirical evidence comes from the recent case of food quality standards in Central and Eastern European countries – purported weaker member states at the EU periphery. The conclusion reflects on the findings’ implications for future research.