Since the enlargements of 2004 and 2007, European integration has brought about
major changes for the citizens of Central and Eastern Europe, such as a process of
rebordering and new obstacles to travel to EU countries. This is the starting point of a
research on border identities of the Romanian populations located on the "wrong" side
of the EU border in Moldova, Serbia and Ukraine. Based on an analysis of the discourse
of “ordinary citizens” collected during field researches in the three countries, the paper
looks firstly at the way the border impacts on their perceptions of Europe. The paper
determines, secondly, how these populations’ commitment to Romanian identity can be
understood as an instrumental attachment to the extent that Romanian citizenship
allows them to enjoy the benefits of EU citizenship.