ABSTRACT
The point of departure for this chapter is the assumption that, as the current shape of European integration does not leave much space for EU member states to operationalise their relations with one another without any reference to the EU institutional and normative framework, the concept of Europeanisation may serve as a valuable tool in researching bilateralism within the European Union. Bilateralism within the EU will be examined here through the lens of neorealist theory. Its conceptual framework reflects today’s reality, as realist terminology is once again relevant. Apart from categories such as ‘interest’ and ‘power’, realists emphasise the epistemological category of ‘interdependence’ or its variation, ‘dependence’, which results from a sharp asymmetry in states’ capabilities. Europeanisation and interdependence are proposed in this chapter as explanatory independent variables utilised for the study of bilateralism in the context of European integration.
