Enlargement of the EU
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

The European Union (EU) has expanded a number of times throughout its history by way of the accession of new
member states A member state is a state that is a member of an international organization or of a federation or confederation. Since the World Trade Organization (WTO) and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) include some members that are not sovereign states ...
to the Union. To join the EU, a state needs to fulfil economic and political conditions called the Copenhagen criteria (after the Copenhagen summit in June 1993), which require a stable democratic government that respects the rule of law, and its corresponding freedoms and institutions. According to the Maastricht Treaty, each current member state and the European Parliament must agree to any enlargement. The process of enlargement is sometimes referred to as
European integration European integration is the process of industrial, economic integration, economic, political, legal, social integration, social, and cultural Regional integration, integration of states wholly or partially in Europe or nearby. European integrat ...
. This term is also used to refer to the intensification of co-operation between EU member states as national governments allow for the gradual harmonisation of national laws. The EU's predecessor, the
European Economic Community The European Economic Community (EEC) was a regional organization created by the Treaty of Rome of 1957,Today the largely rewritten treaty continues in force as the ''Treaty on the functioning of the European Union'', as renamed by the Lisb ...
,Current Article 1 of the Treaty on European Union reads:"The Union shall be founded on the present Treaty and on the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union. Those two Treaties shall have the same legal value. The Union shall replace and succeed the European Community". was founded with the
Inner Six The Inner Six, also known as the Six, the Six founders, or the founding members of the European Union, refers to Belgium, France, Germany, Italy, Luxembourg, and the Netherlands, the six founding member states of the European Communities, now ...
member states in 1958, when the
Treaty of Rome The Treaty of Rome, or EEC Treaty (officially the Treaty establishing the European Economic Community), brought about the creation of the European Economic Community (EEC), the best known of the European Communities (EC). The treaty was sig ...
came into force. Since then, the EU's membership has grown to twenty-seven, with the latest member state being Croatia, which joined in July 2013. The most recent territorial enlargement of the EU was the incorporation of Mayotte in 2014. Campione d'Italia joined the EU Customs Union in 2020. The most notable territorial reductions of the EU, and its predecessors, have been the exit of Algeria upon independence in 1962, the exit of Greenland in 1985, and the withdrawal of the United Kingdom in 2020. , accession negotiations are under way with Albania (since 2020), Montenegro (since 2012), North Macedonia (since 2020), Serbia (since 2014) and Turkey (since 2005). Serbia and Montenegro have been described by former
President of the European Commission The president of the European Commission is the head of the European Commission, the executive branch of the European Union (EU). The President of the Commission leads a Cabinet of Commissioners, referred to as the College, collectively account ...
Jean-Claude Juncker and Enlargement commissioner Johannes Hahn as the frontrunner candidates, and projected that they would join by 2025, during the next mandate of the European Commission. Negotiations with Turkey are ongoing, but have effectively paused due to objections from the EU to the Turkish government's response to the 2016 coup d'état attempt, and democratic backsliding. Bosnia and Herzegovina submitted an application for membership in 2016, as did Ukraine, Georgia, and Moldova in the first few weeks of the
2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine On 24 February 2022, in a major escalation of the Russo-Ukrainian War, which began in 2014. The invasion has resulted in tens of thousands of deaths on both sides. It has caused Europe's largest refugee crisis since World War II. An ...
. Ukraine and Moldova were subsequently recognised as official candidates, while Bosnia and Herzegovina and Georgia are recognised as potential candidates and were asked to complete additional reforms before becoming official candidates for membership. Bosnia and Herzegovina then received official candidate status in December 2022.


Criteria

According to the EU treaties, membership of the European Union is open to "any European State which respects the values referred to in Article 2 and is committed to promoting them" ( TEU Article 49). Those Article 2 values are "respect for human dignity, freedom, democracy, equality, the rule of law and respect for human rights, including the rights of persons belonging to minorities." This is based on the 1993 " Copenhagen criteria" agreed as it became clear many former
Eastern Bloc The Eastern Bloc, also known as the Communist Bloc and the Soviet Bloc, was the group of socialist states of Central and Eastern Europe, East Asia, Southeast Asia, Africa, and Latin America under the influence of the Soviet Union that existed du ...
countries would apply to join: In December 1995, the Madrid European Council revised the membership criteria to include conditions for member country integration through the appropriate adjustment of its administrative structures: since it is important that European Community legislation be reflected in national legislation, it is critical that the revised national legislation be implemented effectively through appropriate administrative and judicial structures. Finally, and technically outside the Copenhagen criteria, comes the further requirement that all prospective members must enact legislation to bring their laws into line with the body of European law built up over the history of the Union, known as the '' acquis communautaire''.


Process

Today the accession process follows a series of formal steps, from a pre-accession agreement to the ratification of the final accession treaty. These steps are primarily presided over by the European Commission ( Enlargement Commissioner and DG Enlargement), but the actual negotiations are technically conducted between the Union's Member States and the candidate country. Before a country applies for membership it typically signs an association agreement to help prepare the country for candidacy and eventual membership. Most countries do not meet the criteria to even begin negotiations before they apply, so they need many years to prepare for the process. An association agreement helps prepare for this first step. In the case of the
Western Balkans The Balkans ( ), also known as the Balkan Peninsula, is a geographical area in southeastern Europe with various geographical and historical definitions. The region takes its name from the Balkan Mountains that stretch throughout the whol ...
, a special process, the Stabilisation and Association Process exists to deal with the special circumstances there. When a country formally applies for membership, the Council asks the commission to prepare an opinion on the country's readiness to begin negotiations. The council can then either accept or reject the commission's opinion (The council has only once rejected the commission's opinion when the latter advised against opening negotiations with Greece). If the Council agrees to open negotiations the screening process then begins. The commission and candidate country examine its laws and those of the EU and determine what differences exist. The Council then recommends opening negotiations on "chapters" of law that it feels there is sufficient common ground to have constructive negotiations. Negotiations are typically a matter of the candidate country convincing the EU that its laws and administrative capacity are sufficient to execute European law, which can be implemented as seen fit by the member states. Often this will involve time-lines before the Acquis Communautaire (European regulations, directives and standards) has to be fully implemented. A chapter is said to be closed when both sides have agreed it has been implemented sufficiently, however it can still be re-opened if the Commission feels that the candidate has fallen out of compliance. To assess progress achieved by countries in preparing for accession to the European Union, the European Commission submits regular reports (yearly) to the
European Council The European Council (informally EUCO) is a collegiate body that defines the overall political direction and priorities of the European Union. It is composed of the heads of state or government of the EU member states, the President of the E ...
. These serve as a basis for the council to make decisions on negotiations or their extension to other candidates. Once the negotiations are complete, a
Treaty of Accession A Treaty of Accession to the European Union is a treaty of the European Union that specifies the terms under which an applicant state becomes a member of the European Union. In addition to the Treaty of Accession, a Final Act of Accession is signe ...
will be signed, which must then be ratified by all of the member states of the Union, as well as the institutions of the Union, and the candidate country. Once this has been completed it will join the Union on the date specified in the treaty. The entire process, from application for membership to membership has typically taken about a decade, although some countries, notably Sweden, Finland, and Austria have been faster, taking only a few years. The process from application for association agreement through accession has taken far longer, as much as several decades (Turkey, for example, first applied for association in the 1950s and has yet to conclude accession negotiations). On 18 October 2019, France vetoed starting of negotiations with Albania and North Macedonia, citing problems with the current enlargement process. In November 2019, France proposed a seven-stage accession plan for membership. The reformed accession strategy proposes participation in different programs, such as Erasmus, Banking Union, Capital Markets Union, Customs Union, etc.


Example

The following is an example of the accession process—Estonia's path to membership from its
restoration of independence The Portuguese Restoration War ( pt, Guerra da Restauração) was the war between Portugal and Spain that began with the Portuguese revolution of 1640 and ended with the Treaty of Lisbon in 1668, bringing a formal end to the Iberian Union. The p ...
from the Soviet Union in November 1991 with recognition from the EU the same month to membership in May 2004. Ease of accession depends on the state: how integrated it is with the EU beforehand, the state of its economy and public institutions, any outstanding political issues with the EU and (historically) how much law to date the EU has built up that the acceding state must adopt. This outline also includes integration steps taken by the accession country after it attains membership.


Success and fatigue

Enlargement has been one of the EU's successful foreign policies,Piket, Vincen
EU Enlargement and Neighbourhood Policy
Institute for Strategic Studies
yet has equally suffered from considerable opposition from the start. French President
Charles de Gaulle Charles André Joseph Marie de Gaulle (; ; (commonly abbreviated as CDG) 22 November 18909 November 1970) was a French army officer and statesman who led Free France against Nazi Germany in World War II and chaired the Provisional Government ...
opposed British membership. A later French President,
François Mitterrand François Marie Adrien Maurice Mitterrand (26 October 19168 January 1996) was President of France, serving under that position from 1981 to 1995, the longest time in office in the history of France. As First Secretary of the Socialist Party, he ...
, opposed Greek, Spanish and Portuguese membership, fearing that the former dictatorships were not ready and that the countries' inclusion would reduce the union to a free-trade area.Beyond Enlargement Fatigue? The Dutch debate on Turkish accession
European Security Initiative 2006
The reasons for the first member states to apply, and for them to be accepted, were primarily economic while the second enlargement was more political. The southern Mediterranean countries had just emerged from dictatorships and wanted to secure their democratic systems through the EEC, while the EEC wanted to ensure the same thing and that their southern neighbours were stable and aligned to NATO.Bache, Ian and Stephen George (2006) ''Politics in the European Union'', Oxford University Press. p540–542 These two principal forces, economic gain and political security, have been behind enlargements since. After the large enlargements in 2004, public opinion in Europe turned against further expansion. It has also been acknowledged that enlargement has its limits; the EU cannot expand endlessly. Former Commission President Romano Prodi favoured granting "everything but institutions" to the EU's neighbour states, allowing them to co-operate deeply while not adding strain on the EU's institutional framework. This has in particular been pushed by France and Germany as a
privileged partnership :''This article deals with cooperation between the European Union and non-member states. For the use of the term to describe Franco-German cooperation at and since the Treaty of Maastricht, see France–Germany relations'' Privileged partnership ...
for Turkey, membership for which has faced considerable opposition on cultural and logistical grounds.


Historical enlargements


Founding members

The
European Coal and Steel Community The European Coal and Steel Community (ECSC) was a European organization created after World War II to regulate the coal and steel industries. It was formally established in 1951 by the Treaty of Paris, signed by Belgium, France, Italy, Luxembo ...
(ECSC) was proposed by
Robert Schuman Jean-Baptiste Nicolas Robert Schuman (; 29 June 18864 September 1963) was a Luxembourg-born French statesman. Schuman was a Christian Democrat (Popular Republican Movement) political thinker and activist. Twice Prime Minister of France, a ref ...
in
his declaration His or HIS may refer to: Computing * Hightech Information System, a Hong Kong graphics card company * Honeywell Information Systems * Hybrid intelligent system * Microsoft Host Integration Server Education * Hangzhou International School, in ...
on 9 May 1950 and involved the pooling of the coal and steel industries of France and West Germany. Half of the project states, Belgium, Luxembourg, and the Netherlands, had already achieved a great degree of integration amongst themselves with the organs of Benelux and earlier bilateral agreements. These five countries were joined by Italy and they all signed the Treaty of Paris on 23 July 1952. These six members, dubbed the '
Inner Six The Inner Six, also known as the Six, the Six founders, or the founding members of the European Union, refers to Belgium, France, Germany, Italy, Luxembourg, and the Netherlands, the six founding member states of the European Communities, now ...
' (as opposed to the '
outer seven The Inner Six, also known as the Six, the Six founders, or the founding members of the European Union, refers to Belgium, France, Germany, Italy, Luxembourg, and the Netherlands, the six founding member states of the European Communities, no ...
' who formed the
European Free Trade Association The European Free Trade Association (EFTA) is a regional trade organization and free trade area consisting of four List of sovereign states and dependent territories in Europe, European states: Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway and Switzerlan ...
who were suspicious of such plans for integration) went on to sign the Treaties of Rome establishing two further communities, together known as the
European Communities The European Communities (EC) were three international organizations that were governed by the same set of institutions. These were the European Coal and Steel Community (ECSC), the European Atomic Energy Community (EAEC or Euratom), and the ...
when they merged their executives in 1967. In 1962, Spain, ruled by the
military dictator A military dictatorship is a dictatorship in which the military exerts complete or substantial control over political authority, and the dictator is often a high-ranked military officer. The reverse situation is to have civilian control of the m ...
Francisco Franco Francisco Franco Bahamonde (; 4 December 1892 – 20 November 1975) was a Spanish general who led the Nationalist faction (Spanish Civil War), Nationalist forces in overthrowing the Second Spanish Republic during the Spanish Civil War ...
, issued its first attempt to join the
European Communities The European Communities (EC) were three international organizations that were governed by the same set of institutions. These were the European Coal and Steel Community (ECSC), the European Atomic Energy Community (EAEC or Euratom), and the ...
. Spanish Foreign Affairs minister
Fernando María Castiella Fernando María Castiella y Maíz (1907–1976) was a Spanish diplomat and politician, who served as Minister of Foreign Affairs (1957–1969) in Francoist Spain. Biography Born in Bilbao on 9 December 1907. He read Law and held a Doctorate f ...
sent the request form to French Prime Minister
Maurice Couve de Murville Jacques-Maurice Couve de Murville (; 24 January 1907 – 24 December 1999) was a French diplomat and politician who was Minister of Foreign Affairs from 1958 to 1968 and Prime Minister from 1968 to 1969 under the presidency of General de Gaull ...
. This request was rejected by all the member countries in 1964; Spain was not a democracy at the time, and thus unable to enter the EEC. The Community did see some loss of territory due to the
decolonialisation Decolonization or decolonisation is the undoing of colonialism, the latter being the process whereby imperial nations establish and dominate foreign territories, often overseas. Some scholars of decolonization focus especially on independence ...
occurring in their era. Algeria, which was an integral part of France, had a special relationship with the Community. Algeria gained independence on 5 July 1962 and hence left the Community. There would be no further efforts at enlargement until the early 1970s.


First enlargement

File:Evolution of the European Union SMIL.svg, Interactive map of the enlargement and evolution of the European Union, excluding Greenland and Algeria defaul

The United Kingdom, which had refused to join as a founding member, changed its policy following the
Suez crisis The Suez Crisis, or the Second Arab–Israeli war, also called the Tripartite Aggression ( ar, العدوان الثلاثي, Al-ʿUdwān aṯ-Ṯulāṯiyy) in the Arab world and the Sinai War in Israel,Also known as the Suez War or 1956 Wa ...
and applied to be a member of the Communities. Other EEC members were also inclined to British membership on those grounds. French President
Charles de Gaulle Charles André Joseph Marie de Gaulle (; ; (commonly abbreviated as CDG) 22 November 18909 November 1970) was a French army officer and statesman who led Free France against Nazi Germany in World War II and chaired the Provisional Government ...
vetoed British membership. Once de Gaulle had left office, the door to enlargement was once again opened. The EEC economy had also slowed down and British membership was seen as a way to revitalise the community. Only after a 12-hour talk between British Prime Minister Edward Heath and French President Georges Pompidou took place did Britain's third application succeed."1971 Year in Review
, UPI.com"
After Britain was accepted Prime Minister Edward Heath said:
"For my part, I have no doubt at all that the discussions which we have had will prove of real and lasting benefit, not only to Britain and France, but to Europe as a whole."
As part of the deal for British entry, France agreed to allow the EEC its own monetary resources. However France made that concession only as Britain's small agriculture sector would ensure that Britain would be a net contributor to the Common Agricultural Policy dominated EEC budget. Applying together with the UK, as on the previous occasions, were Denmark, Ireland, and Norway. These countries were so economically linked to the UK that they considered it necessary to join the EEC if the UK did. However the Norwegian government lost a national referendum on membership and hence did not accede with the others on 1 January 1973.
Gibraltar ) , anthem = " God Save the King" , song = " Gibraltar Anthem" , image_map = Gibraltar location in Europe.svg , map_alt = Location of Gibraltar in Europe , map_caption = United Kingdom shown in pale green , mapsize = , image_map2 = Gib ...
joined the Community with the United Kingdom at this point, as can be seen in the long title of the UK European Communities Act 1972.


Mediterranean enlargements

The next enlargement would occur for different reasons. The 1970s also saw Greece, Spain, and Portugal emerge from dictatorship. These countries desired to consolidate their new democratic systems by binding themselves into the EEC. Equally, the EEC was unsure about which way these countries were heading and wanted to ensure stability along its southern borders. However
François Mitterrand François Marie Adrien Maurice Mitterrand (26 October 19168 January 1996) was President of France, serving under that position from 1981 to 1995, the longest time in office in the history of France. As First Secretary of the Socialist Party, he ...
initially opposed their membership fearing they were not ready and it would water the community down to a free trade area. Greece joined the EU in 1981 followed by Spain and Portugal in 1986. The year 1985, however, saw the first time a territory voted to leave the Community, when Greenland was granted home rule by Denmark and the territory used its new powers and voted to withdraw from the Community (See member state territories). Morocco and Turkey applied for membership in 1987. Morocco's application was turned down as it was not considered European, while Turkey's application was considered eligible on the basis of the 1963
Ankara Association Agreement The Agreement Creating An Association Between The Republic of Turkey and the European Economic Community, commonly known as the Ankara Agreement ( tr, Ankara Anlaşması), is a treaty signed in 1963 that provides for the framework for the co-oper ...
, but the opinion of the commission on the possible candidate status was by then negative. Turkey received candidate status only in 1999 and began official membership negotiations in 2005, which were still in progress as of 2021.


Post–Cold War

After the 1970s, Europe experienced an economic downturn which led to leaders launching of the Single European Act which set to create a single market by 1992. The effect of this was that EFTA states found it harder to export to the EEC and businesses (including large EFTA corporations such as Volvo) wished to relocate within the new single market making the downturn worse for EFTA. EFTA states began to discuss closer links with the EEC despite its domestic unpopularity.Bache, Ian and Stephen George (2006) ''Politics in the European Union'', Oxford University Press. p543–547 Austria, Finland, and Sweden were neutral in the
Cold War The Cold War is a term commonly used to refer to a period of geopolitical tension between the United States and the Soviet Union and their respective allies, the Western Bloc and the Eastern Bloc. The term '' cold war'' is used because the ...
so membership of an organisation developing a
common foreign and security policy The Common Foreign and Security Policy (CFSP) is the organised, agreed foreign policy of the European Union (EU) for mainly security and defence diplomacy and actions. CFSP deals only with a specific part of the EU's external relations, whic ...
would be incompatible with that. With the end of the Cold War in 1989, that obstacle was removed, and the desire to pursue membership grew stronger. On 3 October 1990, the reunification of East and West Germany brought East Germany into the Community without increasing the number of member states. The Community later became the European Union in 1993 by virtue of the Maastricht Treaty, and established standards for new entrants so their suitability could be judged. The Copenhagen criteria stated in 1993 that a country must be a democracy, operate a free market, and be willing to adopt the entire body of EU law already agreed upon. Also in 1993 the European Economic Area was established with the EFTA states except
Switzerland ). Swiss law does not designate a ''capital'' as such, but the federal parliament and government are installed in Bern, while other federal institutions, such as the federal courts, are in other cities (Bellinzona, Lausanne, Luzern, Neuchâtel ...
. Most of the new EEA states pursued full EU membership as the EEA did not sufficiently satisfy the needs of their export based corporations. The EU has also preferred these states to integrate via the EEA rather than full membership as the EEC wished to pursue monetary integration and did not wish for another round of enlargement to occupy their attention. However, with the EEA's credibility dented following rejection by businesses and Switzerland, the EU agreed with full membership. This was more readily accepted with the prospect of poorer countries wishing to join; contributions from richer countries would help balance the EU budget. On 1 January 1995 Austria, Finland, and Sweden acceded to the EU marking its fourth enlargement. The Norwegian government lost a second national referendum on membership.


Eastern enlargement

In the late 1980's (shortly prior to the
Dissolution of the Soviet Union The dissolution of the Soviet Union, also negatively connoted as rus, Разва́л Сове́тского Сою́за, r=Razvál Sovétskogo Soyúza, ''Ruining of the Soviet Union''. was the process of internal disintegration within the Sov ...
)
Mikhail Gorbachev Mikhail Sergeyevich Gorbachev (2 March 1931 – 30 August 2022) was a Soviet politician who served as the 8th and final leader of the Soviet Union from 1985 to dissolution of the Soviet Union, the country's dissolution in 1991. He served a ...
announced the Soviet Union would no longer intervene in other countries' internal affairs (
Sinatra Doctrine The Sinatra Doctrine was a Soviet foreign policy under Mikhail Gorbachev for allowing member states of the Warsaw Pact to determine their own internal affairs. The name jokingly alluded to the song My Way popularized by Frank Sinatra—the Sovie ...
), practically freeing
Central and Eastern Europe Central and Eastern Europe is a term encompassing the countries in the Baltics, Central Europe, Eastern Europe and Southeast Europe (mostly the Balkans), usually meaning former communist states from the Eastern Bloc and Warsaw Pact in Europe. ...
from Soviet occupation (Czechoslovakia and Hungary) / Soviet backed authoritarian regimes. These countries wanted to consolidate their democracies through joining Western world international organisations (including participation in
European integration European integration is the process of industrial, economic integration, economic, political, legal, social integration, social, and cultural Regional integration, integration of states wholly or partially in Europe or nearby. European integrat ...
) which would ensure the newly emerged democracies would not fall back under Russian control. The EU and NATO offered a guarantee of this, and the EU was also seen as vital to ensuring the economic success of those countries. However, the EU's desire to accept these countries' membership applications was less than rapid. The collapse of communism came quickly and was not anticipated. The EU struggled to deal with the sudden reunification of Germany with the addition of its poorer 17 million people and, while keeping its monetary union project on track, it was still at that early stage pointing the EFTA countries in the direction of the EEA rather than full membership.Bache, Ian and Stephen George (2006) ''Politics in the European Union'', Oxford University Press. p549–550 States in Central and Eastern Europe persisted and eventually the above-mentioned issues were cleared. The US also pressured the EU to offer membership as a temporary guarantee; it feared expanding NATO too rapidly for fear of frightening Russia. Although eventually trying to limit the number of members, and after encouragement from the US, the EU pursued talks with ten countries and a change of mind by Cyprus and Malta helped to offset slightly the influx of large poorer member states from Central and Eastern Europe. In the end, eight Central and Eastern European countries (the Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary,
Latvia Latvia ( or ; lv, Latvija ; ltg, Latveja; liv, Leţmō), officially the Republic of Latvia ( lv, Latvijas Republika, links=no, ltg, Latvejas Republika, links=no, liv, Leţmō Vabāmō, links=no), is a country in the Baltic region of ...
,
Lithuania Lithuania (; lt, Lietuva ), officially the Republic of Lithuania ( lt, Lietuvos Respublika, links=no ), is a country in the Baltic region of Europe. It is one of three Baltic states and lies on the eastern shore of the Baltic Sea. Lithuania ...
, Poland, Slovakia, and Slovenia), plus two Mediterranean countries ( Malta and Cyprus) joined on 1 May 2004. This was the largest single enlargement in terms of people, and number of countries, though not in terms of GDP. The less developed nature of these countries was of concern to some of the older member states. Some countries, such as the UK, immediately opened their job market to the accession states, whereas most others placed temporary restrictions on the rights of work of the citizens of these states to their countries. The movement westward of some of the labour force of the newly acceded countries that occurred in the aftermath of the enlargement initially spawned clichés among the public opinion and media of some western countries (such as the " Polish plumber"), despite the generally conceded benefit to the economies concerned. The official EU media (the speeches of the European Commission) frequently referred to the enlargement to the CEE region as "an historical opportunity" and "morally imperative", which reflected the desire of the EU to admit these countries as members, even though they were less developed than the Western European countries. Following this, Romania and Bulgaria (deemed initially as not fully ready by the commission to join in 2004) acceded nevertheless on 1 January 2007. These, like the countries joining in 2004, faced a series of restrictions as to their citizens not fully enjoying working rights on the territory of some of the older EU members. As of mid-2022, Bulgaria and Romania are not members of the
Schengen Area The Schengen Area ( , ) is an area comprising 27 European countries that have officially abolished all passport and all other types of border control at their mutual borders. Being an element within the wider area of freedom, security and j ...
nor the Eurozone; however, their citizens can travel visa-free to the other EU countries. The socio-economic research on the attitudes towards the integration from both hosting and visiting countries has revealed divergent views. The analysis shows, there are a number of possible factors of the rationalisation and understanding of the practices on what the enlargement has been and should be like. Attitudes of even sceptical citizens, do not discard the possibility on future sustainable enlargements. The years subsequent to the EU accession will lead to extensive dialogues between policy-makers, governments, and European citizens about the path for a constructive development.


Western Balkans enlargements

The 2003 European Council summit in Thessaloniki set integration of the Western Balkans as a priority of EU expansion. The EU's relations with the
Western Balkans The Balkans ( ), also known as the Balkan Peninsula, is a geographical area in southeastern Europe with various geographical and historical definitions. The region takes its name from the Balkan Mountains that stretch throughout the whol ...
states were moved from the " External Relations" to the " Enlargement" policy segment in 2005. Those states which have not been recognised as candidate countries are considered "potential candidate countries". The move to Enlargement directorate was a consequence of the advancement of the Stabilisation and Association process. Croatia joined on 1 July 2013, following ratification of the 2011 Accession Treaty by all other EU countries. Albania and the several successor states of the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia have all adopted EU integration as an aim of foreign policy.


Detail


Timeline


Potential enlargements


Current enlargement agenda

Article 49 of the Maastricht Treaty (as amended) says that any European state that respects the "principles of liberty, democracy, respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms, and the rule of law", may apply to join the Union. The
European Council The European Council (informally EUCO) is a collegiate body that defines the overall political direction and priorities of the European Union. It is composed of the heads of state or government of the EU member states, the President of the E ...
set out the conditions for EU membership in June 1993 in the so-called Copenhagen criteria (see
Criteria Criterion, or its plural form criteria, may refer to: General * Criterion, Oregon, a historic unincorporated community in the United States * Criterion Place, a proposed skyscraper in West Yorkshire, England * Criterion Restaurant, in London, Eng ...
above for details). The Western
Balkan The Balkans ( ), also known as the Balkan Peninsula, is a geographical area in southeastern Europe with various geographical and historical definitions. The region takes its name from the Balkan Mountains that stretch throughout the who ...
states had to sign Stabilisation and Association Agreements (SAAs) before applying for membership. Turkey applied for membership in 1987. The Western Balkans have been prioritised for membership since emerging from war during the
break-up of Yugoslavia The breakup of Yugoslavia occurred as a result of a series of political upheavals and conflicts during the early 1990s. After a period of political and economic crisis in the 1980s, constituent republics of the Socialist Federal Republic of Yu ...
in the early 1990s. Albania, Montenegro, North Macedonia and Serbia are all recognised as official candidates and in negotiation; negotiations with Turkey are frozen. Kosovo is recognised as a potential candidate for membership by the EU. Both Bosnia and Herzegovina and Kosovo have an SAA with the EU. In July 2014,
President of the European Commission The president of the European Commission is the head of the European Commission, the executive branch of the European Union (EU). The President of the Commission leads a Cabinet of Commissioners, referred to as the College, collectively account ...
Jean-Claude Juncker announced that the EU has no plans to expand in the next five years. Juncker has described Serbia and Montenegro as front-runner candidates, and projected that they would join by 2025. The
European Council The European Council (informally EUCO) is a collegiate body that defines the overall political direction and priorities of the European Union. It is composed of the heads of state or government of the EU member states, the President of the E ...
endorsed starting negotiations with North Macedonia and Albania on 26 March 2020, and they could join after 2025. Turkey is not expected to join anytime soon. On 6 February 2018, the European Commission published its expansion plan, which covers the six Western Balkan countries. The plan envisages that all six applicants could achieve accession as members of the European Union after 2025. In May 2018, Bulgaria—holding the rotating presidency of the Council of the European Union—hosted a summit on the Western Balkans, which aimed to facilitate accession by the six, including enhanced regional security cooperation and regional connectivity. It was noteworthy that the Summit referred to 'partners' rather than states: this reflects that Kosovo is
partially recognised Diplomatic recognition in international law is a unilateral declarative political act of a state that acknowledges an act or status of another state or government in control of a state (may be also a recognized state). Recognition can be accorde ...
as a state. As of 2018, Kosovo was not recognised by fellow Western Balkan applicant Serbia, and existing EU members Spain, Slovakia, Cyprus, Romania, and Greece. The European Commission is sensitive to the issue which was addressed in a speech by the EU's High Representative/Vice-President Federica Mogherini at the European Parliament Plenary Session on the Western Balkan Strategy: "shared, unequivocal, concrete perspective for European Union integration for each and every one of the six partners. Each at its own pace, with its own specificities and under different conditions, but the direction is clear and is one." Amid the
2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine On 24 February 2022, in a major escalation of the Russo-Ukrainian War, which began in 2014. The invasion has resulted in tens of thousands of deaths on both sides. It has caused Europe's largest refugee crisis since World War II. An ...
, the three
former A former is an object, such as a template, gauge or cutting die, which is used to form something such as a boat's hull. Typically, a former gives shape to a structure that may have complex curvature. A former may become an integral part of the ...
Soviet republics of Ukraine, Moldova and Georgia submitted applications for EU membership.. The European Parliament subsequently voted to accept an emergency petition from the government of Ukraine for EU member state candidacy. On 17 June 2022, the European Commission recommended that Ukraine and Moldova become candidates for EU membership, and that Georgia be recognised as a potential candidate but that it would need to "meet certain conditions" to be granted candidate status. These conditions included investing more in education and infrastructure, and completing a number of reforms in the areas of elections, judicial independence, crime, corruption, and oligarchs. These recommendations were approved by the
European Council The European Council (informally EUCO) is a collegiate body that defines the overall political direction and priorities of the European Union. It is composed of the heads of state or government of the EU member states, the President of the E ...
during a summit on 23 June. Kosovo submitted its application for membership on 14 December 2022 and on the 15th, the Commission granted candidate status to Bosnia and Herzegovina.


Abandoned enlargement negotiations

Several sovereign states have previously submitted applications for membership to the EU, but are no longer on the agenda: * Norway has completed membership negotiations twice, in 1972 and 1994, but both times membership was rejected in a referendum. The application remains frozen. *
Switzerland ). Swiss law does not designate a ''capital'' as such, but the federal parliament and government are installed in Bern, while other federal institutions, such as the federal courts, are in other cities (Bellinzona, Lausanne, Luzern, Neuchâtel ...
applied for membership in 1992 but subsequently froze its application. It formally withdrew it in 2016. * Iceland applied in 2009 following an economic collapse, but froze accession negotiations in 2013 after the election of a new government.


See also

* Eastern Partnership *
Enlargement of the African Union When the African Union (AU) was founded in 2002, it represented almost the entire African continent, inheriting the membership of the Organisation of African Unity (OAU), which was founded in 1963, as its successor. Currently, the AU has 55 member ...
* Enlargement of the eurozone * Enlargement of the United Nations *
Enlargement of NATO NATO is a military alliance of twenty-eight European and two North American countries that constitutes a system of collective defense. The process of joining the alliance is governed by Article 10 of the North Atlantic Treaty, which allows ...
*
Euronest Parliamentary Assembly The Euronest Parliamentary Assembly is the inter-parliamentary forum in which members of the European Parliament and the national parliaments of Ukraine, Moldova, Armenia, Azerbaijan and Georgia participate and forge closer political and economic ...
*
European integration European integration is the process of industrial, economic integration, economic, political, legal, social integration, social, and cultural Regional integration, integration of states wholly or partially in Europe or nearby. European integrat ...
*
Foreign relations of the European Union Although there has been a large degree of integration between European Union member states, foreign relations is still a largely intergovernmental matter, with the 27 members controlling their own relations to a large degree. However, with th ...
* Potential enlargement of the European Union * Treaty of Accession 2003 *
Treaty of Accession 2005 The Treaty of Accession 2005 is an agreement between the member states of European Union and Bulgaria and Romania. It entered into force on 1 January 2007. The Treaty arranged accession of Bulgaria and Romania to the EU and amended earlier Treat ...
*
Treaty of Accession 2011 The Treaty of Accession 2011 is an agreement between the member states of the European Union and Croatia concerning Croatia's accession to the EU. It was signed on 9 December 2011 in Brussels by the heads of state or government of the 27 member ...
*
Union for the Mediterranean The Union for the Mediterranean (UfM; french: Union pour la Méditerranée, ar, الإتحاد من أجل المتوسط ''Al-Ittiḥād min ajl al-Mutawasseṭ'') is an intergovernmental organization of 43 member states from Europe and the M ...
* Withdrawal from the European Union *
European Free Trade Association The European Free Trade Association (EFTA) is a regional trade organization and free trade area consisting of four List of sovereign states and dependent territories in Europe, European states: Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway and Switzerlan ...
* European Economic Area *
Schengen Area The Schengen Area ( , ) is an area comprising 27 European countries that have officially abolished all passport and all other types of border control at their mutual borders. Being an element within the wider area of freedom, security and j ...


Notes and references


External links


Enlargement
Europa Europa may refer to: Places * Europe * Europa (Roman province), a province within the Diocese of Thrace * Europa (Seville Metro), Seville, Spain; a station on the Seville Metro * Europa City, Paris, France; a planned development * Europa Cliff ...

EU enlargement documentation on EUR-Lex


CVCE * Archival material concerning the enlargement of the European Union can be consulted at th
Historical Archives of the European Union
in Florence {{Territorial evolution of the world Enlargement of intergovernmental organizations