The process of ‘Europeanisation’, which in the new states in South Eastern Europe entails not only the formal conditions for accession to the European Union (EU), but also the acceptance of rules and principles of other international organisations, such as the Council of Europe (CoE), has had a profound transformative effect on the link between citizenship and the rule of law. In unveiling how ‘Euopeanisation’ has reconceptualised the 'citizenship - rule of law' nexus in the new states in South Eastern Europe, this panel first considers the conceptual links between citizenship and polity building. It then explores how the process of EU accession has affected the governance of citizenship in these states, while focusing on two areas related to the establishment of an area of justice, freedom and security in the EU: extradition and visa liberalisation. The underpinning questions of the panel are how are norms that govern citizenship generated in the context of endogenous (polity building) and exogenous (‘Europeanisation’) pressures; and how is this governance of citizenship contextualised within the changing facets of the rule of law in the transforming societies in South Eastern Europe. The case studies examined focus on the European Arrest Warrant/issues of extradition and visa liberalisation, set against a broader attempt to re-conceptualise the field by thinking about the pressures which impact upon citizenship as forces within a 'space of law'.