Future enlargement of the European Union
Encyclopedia
The future enlargement of the European Union is theoretically open to any Europe
an country which is democratic
, operates a free market
and is willing and able to implement all previous European Union law. Past enlargement
has brought membership from six to twenty-seven members since the foundation of the European Union
(EU) as the European Coal and Steel Community
by the Inner Six
in 1952. The accession criteria are included in the Copenhagen criteria
, agreed in 1993, and the Treaty of Maastricht
(Article 49). Whether a country is European or not is a subject to political assessment by the EU institutions.
At present, there are five recognised candidates for membership (and one to be approved in December 2011): Montenegro
(applied 2008), Croatia
(applied 2003), Iceland (applied 2009), Macedonia (applied 2004), Turkey
(applied 1987) and also, Serbia
(applied 2009). Macedonia, Montenegro and Serbia have not yet started negotiations to join. The other states in the Western Balkans—Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina and Serbia—have signed Stabilisation and Association Agreements (SAA) with the EU, which generally precede the lodging of membership applications. Albania (April 2009) and Serbia
(December 2009) have already applied for membership, but the European Commission has as of October 2011 only recommended Serbia's official candidate status.
On Central and Eastern European countries not being parts of the EU, Heather Grabbe (UK) of the Centre for European Reform
commented: "Belarus
is too authoritarian, Moldova
too poor, Ukraine
too large, and Russia
too scary for the EU to contemplate offering membership any time soon." This was confirmed by a Polish-Swedish authored EU strategy which outlined full integration short of membership being offered to states in the East of Europe but no enlargement perspective offered in the short to medium term.
, the Western Balkans and Iceland
. Turkey has a long standing application with the EU but the negotiations are expected to take many more years. As for the Western Balkan states, the EU had pledged to include them after their civil wars
: in fact, one state has entered, three are candidates, two have applied and the others have pre-accession agreements. Finally, Iceland has recently applied and, if sensitive negotiations over fishing
can be overcome, is expected to complete negotiations rapidly due to its membership of the European Economic Area
.
There are however other states in Europe which either seek membership or could potentially apply if their present foreign policy changes, or the EU gives a signal that they might now be included on the enlargement agenda. However, these are not formally part of the current agenda, which is already delayed due to bilateral disputes in the Balkans and difficulty in fully implementing the acquis communautaire (the accepted body of EU law).
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(all other successor states are planning to join the EU) but Turkey is a long-standing candidate, having applied in 1987 and gaining candidate status in 1999. This is due to both the complex nature of bringing Turkey into line with EU standards and also the political issues surrounding the accession of the country.
Croatia
applied for membership in 2003 and is expected to join in 2013. After Slovenia
, Croatia has recovered best from the break-up of the former Yugoslavia and pushed to become the second former Yugoslav state to join. It has a stable market economy, and has had better statistical indicators (such as GDP per capita) than seven EU countries (Bulgaria, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland and Romania).
Negotiations had been held up by a border dispute with Slovenia but in June 2011 the Commission recommended the last chapters be concluded. The European Council agreed and accession negotiations were concluded on 30 June 2011. Signing of the Treaty of Accession should take place by the end of 2011. The Commission foresees Croatia joining on 1 July 2013.
Despite the recommendation in favour of accession, it will be closely monitored until accession to ensure it continues to reform. It will not however be subject to Mechanism for Cooperation and Verification
(CVM) that Bulgaria and Romania were subject to.
Iceland
applied to join the EU in July 2009 following an economic downturn. Prior to that, its relations with the EU were defined by its membership of the European Economic Area
(EEA), which gave it access to the EU's single market
, and the Schengen treaty. As a result of the membership of the EEA, Iceland already applies many major economic EU laws and negotiations are expected to proceed rapidly (although 2005 research by the EFTA Secretariat found the exact percentage of laws adopted to be only 6.5%; see below for European Commission assessment).
Like in Norway
, fear of losing control over the fishery resources in its territorial waters was the single largest issue that kept Iceland reluctant to join the EU. However, the strong effect of the economic crisis of 2008 on Iceland accelerated the debate considerably and the Independence Party
, the largest opposing party, agreed to opening accession negotiations after a referendum (in addition to a final referendum). A proposal to begin negotiations with the EU was put before the Icelandic parliament
in July 2009 and approved (without a pre-negotiation referendum) by a slim majority on 16 July 2009. Iceland submitted its application to the Swedish presidency in a letter dated 16 July. The application was acknowledged by the Council of the European Union
on 27 July. On 8 September, the EU commission sent a list of 2,500 questions to Iceland about its fulfilment of convergence criteria and adoption of EU law. Iceland returned answers to the commission on 22 October 2009. On 2 November, Iceland selected a chief negotiator for the coming membership negotiations with the EU: Stefan Haukur Johannesson, Iceland's Ambassador to Belgium. In February 2010, the European Commissioner for Enlargement and European Neighbourhood Policy recommended to the Council of the European Union to start accession negotiations with Iceland. The European Council
decided in June that negotiations shall start, and on 17 June 2010, the EU granted official candidate status to Iceland by formally approving the opening of membership talks. On 26 July 2010, the European Union foreign ministers formally gave the green light for negotiations to begin and agreed to start the talks on the following day.
The first annual report on negotiations was published in November 2010; the main issues at stake remain the fisheries sector and whale hunting, while progress has been made concerning the Icesave dispute.
applied to become an official candidate on 22 March 2004. On 9 November 2005, the European Commission recommended that it attain candidate status. EU leaders agreed to this recommendation on 17 December, formally naming the country an official candidate. However, no starting date for negotiations has been announced yet.
Peace is maintained with underlying ethnic tensions over Albanians in the west of the country, who achieved greater autonomy through the implementation of the Ohrid Accords
. Unlike Serbia, Macedonia has maintained sovereignty over all its territory. Prime Minister Nikola Gruevski
has suggested that the country could join the EU in 2012 or 2013. However, the EU has not yet recognised this suggested time period.
On 17 December 2005, the European Council
welcomed and congratulated the country's achievements in implementing multiple reforms and agreements (Copenhagen criteria
, Stabilisation and Association process
, Ohrid Agreement
).
The country has a dispute over its name with its southern neighbour and current EU member, Greece
. Greece rejects the name "Macedonia" because it says it implies territorial ambitions towards Greece's own northern province of Macedonia
(see: Macedonia naming dispute
). Because of this, the EU refers to the country only by the provisional appellation "the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia" (FYRoM). The resolution of the name issue has become a precondition for accession, since Greece has repeatedly confirmed it would use its right to block accession without a prior settlement. Concerns over the country's difficulties in reaching European standards on the rule of law and the economy and over violence and irregularities in the 2008 parliamentary elections have also cast doubts on the country's candidacy.
of 21 May 2006, the Montenegrin people voted for Montenegro
to leave the state union of Serbia and Montenegro
and become an independent state. After obtaining independence, Montenegro officially submitted its EU membership application to the European Commission
(EC) on 15 December 2008. However, Montenegro has been experiencing ecological, judicial and crime-related problems that could slow or hinder its bid.
Montenegro unilaterally adopted the euro
as its currency at its launch in 2002, having previously used the German mark
. Negotiations over the Stabilisation and Association Agreement (SAA) started in September 2006. SAA was officially signed on 15 October 2007 and came into force on 1 May 2010, after all the 27 member-states of EU had ratified it.
On 22 July 2009, a questionnaire to assess Montenegro's application was presented to the Montenegrin Government by the EC. On 9 December 2009, Montenegro delivered its answers to the EC questionnaire. On 9 November 2010, the European Commission
recommended that the Council of the European Union
grant Montenegro the status of candidate country. On 17 December 2010, Montenegro became an official EU candidate country.
Montenegro's population is overwhelmingly for joining the EU, 76.2% being in favour according to polling and only 9.8% against.
The status of Turkey
with regard to the EU has become a matter of major significance and considerable controversy in recent years. Turkey is one of the founding members of the Council of Europe
since 1949 and has been an "associate member" of the European Union and its predecessors since 1964, as a result of the EEC–Turkey Association Agreement
(Ankara Agreement) that was signed on 12 September 1963. The country formally applied for full membership on 14 April 1987, but 12 years passed before it was recognised as a candidate country at the Helsinki Summit in 1999. After a summit in Brussels on 17 December 2004 (following the major 2004 enlargement
), the European Council announced that membership negotiations with Turkey were officially opened on 3 October 2005. The screening process which began on 20 October 2005 was completed on 18 October 2006.
Turkey, with the seventh largest economy
in the Council of Europe
and the fifteenth largest economy in the world, is part of the common EU customs territory
since the entering into force of the EU–Turkey Customs Union in 1996. Turkey was a founding member of the OECD in 1961, a founding member of the OSCE in 1973 and has been an associate member of the Western European Union
since 1992. Turkey is also a founding member of the G-20 major economies
(1999) which has close ties with the European Union.
Proponents of Turkey's membership argue that it is a key regional power
with a large economy
and the second largest military force of NATO
that will enhance the EU's position as a global geostrategic player; given Turkey's geographic location and economic, political and cultural ties in regions with that are in the immediate vicinity of the EU's geopolitical sphere of influence; such as the East Mediterranean
and Black Sea
coasts, the Balkan peninsula, the Middle East
, the Caspian Sea
basin and Central Asia
.
According to Carl Bildt
, Swedish foreign minister
, "[The accession of Turkey] would give the EU a decisive role for stability in the Eastern part of the Mediterranean and the Black Sea, which is clearly in the strategic interest of Europe." One of Turkey's key supporters for its bid to join the EU is the United Kingdom
. In May 2008, Queen Elizabeth II said during a visit to Turkey, that "Turkey is uniquely positioned as a bridge between the East and West at a crucial time for the European Union and the world in general."
However others, such as French President Nicolas Sarkozy
and German Chancellor Angela Merkel
, maintain an opposition to Turkey's membership. Opponents argue that Turkey does not respect the key principles that are expected in a liberal democracy
, such as the freedom of expression, with potentially repressive laws like Article 301
(A law which states it is illegal to "insult the Turkish nation"); and because of the significant role of the army on the Turkish administrative foreground through the National Security Council
; whose military-dominated structure was reformed on 23 July 2003, in line with the requests from the EU. Turkey's large population would also alter the balance of power in the representative European institutions. Upon joining the EU, Turkey's 70 million inhabitants would bestow it the second largest number of MEP
s in the European Parliament
. Demographic projections indicate that Turkey would surpass Germany in the number of seats by 2020.
Other opponents to Turkey's membership state that it would also affect future enlargement plans, especially the number of nations seeking EU membership, grounds by which Valéry Giscard d'Estaing
has opposed Turkey's admission. Giscard d'Estaing has suggested that it would lead to demands for accession by Morocco
. Morocco's application is already rejected on geographic grounds, and Turkey, unlike Morocco, has territory in Europe. French President Nicolas Sarkozy
(then a candidate) stated in January 2007 that "enlarging Europe with no limit risks destroying European political union, and that I do not accept...I want to say that Europe must give itself borders, that not all countries have a vocation to become members of Europe, beginning with Turkey which has no place inside the European Union." Further, some oppose the accession of a largely Muslim country. In 2004, future President of the European Council
Herman Van Rompuy
stated "An enlargement [of the EU] with Turkey is not in any way comparable with previous enlargement waves. Turkey is not Europe and will never be Europe." He continued "But it's a matter of fact that the universal values which are in force in Europe, and which are also the fundamental values of Christianity, will lose vigour with the entry of a large Islamic country such as Turkey."
Only a small fraction of Turkish territory lies in the present common geographical definition of Europe, with approximately 94% its land mass being in Asia
. On the other hand, the country's largest city, Istanbul
, lies mostly in Europe. The population in the commonly defined as European part of Turkey is approximately ten million inhabitants, which is larger than Sweden, Austria, or 14 out of the 27 present EU members. In addition, the EU already has a member state located entirely in Asia—Cyprus
to the south east of Anatolia
and part of Anatolia's continental shelf.
Another concern is the Cyprus dispute
. The northern third of the island of Cyprus is considered by the EU and most states in the world to be part of the Republic of Cyprus, an EU member state, but is de facto controlled by the government of Northern Cyprus, which is recognised by Turkey. Turkey, for its part, does not recognise the Republic of Cyprus pending a resolution to the dispute under the auspices of the United Nations, and has 40,000 troops stationed on territory controlled by the Northern Cypriot government. The UN-backed Annan Plan for the re-unification of Cyprus
was actively supported by the EU and Turkey. Separate referendums held in April 2004 produced different results on either side of the island: while accepted by the Turkish Cypriots
in the north, the plan was rejected by the Greek Cypriots in the south.
applied for EU membership on 28 April 2009. Officially recognised by the EU as a "potential candidate country", Albania started negotiations on a Stabilisation and Association Agreement (SAA) in 2003. SAA was signed on 12 June 2006 and entered force on 1 April 2009, thus completing the first major step towards EU membership.
Following the same path of the recently admitted Central European and Mediterranean countries in 2004
and 2007, Albania has been extensively engaged with EU institutions, and joined NATO as a full member in 2009. It has also maintained its position as a stability factor and a strong ally of European Union
and USA in the troubled and divided region of the Balkans
.
After the application for EU membership was sent by the Albanian Government, on 16 November 2009 the Council of the European Union
asked the European Commission
(EC) to prepare an assessment concerning the readiness of the Republic of Albania to start accession negotiations, a process lasting about a year usually. On 16 December 2009 the EC submitted the questionnaire on accessing preparation to the Albanian Government. Albania returned the questionnaire's answers to the EC on 14 April 2010. Candidacy status was not recognized by the EU along with Montenegro in December 2010, due to the long-lasting political row in the country. In December 2010, Albanian citizens were given the right by the European Union to travel without visas to the Schengen area.
started in November 2005.
On 29 April 2008, Serbian officials
signed an SAA
with the EU, and the Serbian President sought official candidate status by the end of 2008. The Dutch government refused to ratify the agreement while Ratko Mladić
was not captured. He was captured in Serbia on 26 May 2011, removing the main obstacle for obtaining candidate status. As of January 2009, the Serbian government has started to implement its obligations under the agreement unilaterally. The effects remain to be evaluated by the European Commission. Despite its setbacks in the political field, on 7 December 2009 the EU unfroze the trade agreement with Serbia. Serbian citizens gained visa-free travel to the Schengen zone on 19 December 2009, and Serbia officially applied for EU membership on 22 December 2009.
In November 2010, The Economist stated that "EU Foreign Ministers have agreed to pass Serbia's request for membership to the European Commission". The European Commission sent a legislative questionnaire of around 2500 questions and Serbia answered to on 31 January 2011. On 12 October 2011, the European Commission
has recommended that Serbia be granted an official EU candidate status following its successful application for EU membership.
" 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
.
The 2003 European Council summit in Thessaloniki
set integration of the Western Balkans
as a priority of EU expansion.
The successor states of the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia
and of Albania
, have all adopted EU integration as an aim of foreign policy. Slovenia joined the EU on 1 May 2004. Croatia and Macedonia were then granted candidate status, and as of 2010 Albania, Montenegro and Serbia have already lodged in their membership applications and Montenegro has also gained candidate status.
Serbia and Albania are still regarded by the EU as potential candidates but have submitted candidacy for EU membership. That leaves only Bosnia and Herzegovina and Kosovo (UNSCR 1244) as potential candidates that have not yet applied for EU membership.
Bosnia and Herzegovina has SAA while Kosovo (UNSCR 1244) does not.
The EU signed an agreement with Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Macedonia, and Montenegro on 13 April 2007, and Serbia on 15 May 2007, which included visa facilitations for the citizens of these countries. The signing EU Commissioner
Franco Frattini was quoted saying that this is the first step towards full abolition of the visa requirements and the free movement of the Western Balkans citizens in EU. Citizens of Macedonia, Montenegro and Serbia have enjoyed visa-free travel to the EU since 19 December 2009, whereas citizens of Albania and Bosnia and Herzegovina gained it in December 2010. Only Kosovan citizens are still under EU visa regime.
On 9 November 2005, the European Commission
suggested in a new strategy paper that the current enlargement agenda (Croatia, Turkey
and the Western Balkans) could potentially block the possibility of a future accession of Armenia
, Azerbaijan
, Belarus
, Georgia
, Moldova
, and Ukraine
. Olli Rehn
has said on occasion that the EU should "avoid overstretching our capacity, and instead consolidate our enlargement agenda," adding, "this is already a challenging agenda for our accession process."
still has many economic as well as political problems. Recently it has been making slow but steady progress, including co-operation with the war crimes tribunal
at The Hague
.
Negotiations on a Stabilisation and Association Agreement started during the year 2005 and concluded December 2007. This is the first step before making an application for candidate status and membership negotiations. The negotiations were expected to be finalised in late 2007, but due to the failure of the government to decide in time on police reform in line with EU principles they could be finalised in late 2008 at the earliest. Due to this setback and the hard-line positions of most Bosnian politicians, High Representative
Miroslav Lajčák
has stated that he will shift more of his focus for the time being from EU accession to reforms which would improve the standard of living in the country.
The Union may show some leniency over economic requirements due to the political issues at stake. Former President of the European Commission Romano Prodi
has stated that Bosnia and Herzegovina has a chance of joining the EU soon after Croatia
, but it is entirely dependent on the country's progress.
The SAA was initialed on Tuesday, 4 December 2007 by Enlargement Commissioner Olli Rehn
and caretaker Prime Minister Nikola Špirić
. The initialing came in the wake of successful negotiations by Miroslav Lajčák
in regards to passing his new quorum rules laws and also the commitment of Bosnian and Herzegovinian politicians to implementing police reform. The SAA
was signed on 16 June 2008.
According to the Foreign Minister Sven Alkalaj
, Bosnia and Herzegovina planned to submit an application for membership between April and June 2009. However, an application was ultimately not submitted in this time frame. In February 2010, Alkalaj stated that Bosnia now planned to submit their membership application by the end of the year. Again, no application was actually filed.
The main obstacle towards EU accession of Kosovo is the different position of the member countries on its 2008 declaration of independence
. The European Commission noted in its annual report for the progress of the countries candidates and potential candidates for EU accession, that Kosovo faces major challenges, including ensuring the rule of law, the fight against corruption and organised crime, the strengthening of administrative capacity, and the protection of the Serb and other minorities.
As confirmed by the Thessaloniki Summit in June 2003, Kosovo
is firmly anchored in the framework of the Stabilisation and Association Process
, the EU policy which applies to the Western Balkans.
On 20 April 2005 the European Commission adopted the Communication on Kosovo
to the Council "A European Future for Kosovo" which reinforces the Commission’s commitment to Kosovo
. Furthermore, on 20 January 2006, the Council adopted a European Partnership for Serbia and Montenegro
including Kosovo
as defined by UNSCR1244. The European Partnership is a means to materialise the European perspective of the Western Balkan countries within the framework of the stabilisation and association process.
The Provisional Institutions of Self Government (PISG) adopted an Action Plan for the Implementation of the European Partnership in August 2006 and this document forms the current working basis between the EU and the PISG. The PISG regularly report on the implementation of this action plan. Twelve meetings of the so-called "Stabilisation Tracking Mechanism
" (STM), specially devised to promote policy dialogue between the EU and the Kosovan authorities on EU approximation matters have taken place so far. In addition, a new structure of sectoral meetings under the umbrella of the STM was established in the areas of good governance, economy, internal market, innovation and infrastructure in March 2007.
Kosovo's politicians announced that they expect Kosovo to join the EU in 2015.
However, the EU members have warned that, following the significant impact of the fifth enlargement in 2004, a more individual approach will be adopted in the future, although the entry of pairs or small groups of countries will most probably coincide.
with the EU. Of the current member states only Iceland (see section above) has current aspirations to join the EU.
is, like Norway and Iceland, a member of the European Economic Area
and hence is already heavily integrated with the EU. Although it currently has no intention of joining, it might consider joining the EU if Switzerland joins, as it is doing with the Schengen Agreement
. If it attained membership it would become the smallest member state (the current smallest is Malta
).
One concern is that unlike the constitutional monarchies within the EU (such as the United Kingdom, Sweden, Denmark, The Netherlands, Belgium, or Spain), the Prince of Liechtenstein exercises considerable executive powers, and is not merely a figurehead. These powers would have to be rescinded in order for Liechtenstein to be fully democratic, which is a condition for admission to the EU.
is not an EU member state, but adopts some EU legislation as a result of its participation in the European Economic Area
(EEA) through the European Free Trade Association
(EFTA). Additionally, Norway has chosen to opt into some of the Union's programmes, institutions and activities. Whether or not the country should apply for full membership has been a dominant and divisive issue. Division within the current Red-Green Coalition
has blocked the issue since the 2005 parliamentary elections
. Norway has applied four times for EEC and EU membership. In 1962 and 1967 France vetoed Norway's entry, while the later 1972 referendum
and the 1994 referendum
were both lost by the government.
Norway's application for EU membership has been frozen but not withdrawn. It could be resumed at any time following renewed domestic political will, as happened in the case of Malta
.
A large issue for Norway is its fishing resources, which are a significant part of the national economy
and which would come under the Common Fisheries Policy
if Norway were to accede to the EU.
Norway has high GNP
per capita, and would have to pay a high membership fee. The country has a limited amount of agriculture, and few underdeveloped areas, which means that Norway would receive little economic support from the EU. However, as of 2009, Norway has chosen to opt into many EU projects and since its total financial contribution linked to the EEA agreement consists of contributions related to the participation in these projects, and a part made available to development projects for reducing social and economic disparities in the EU (EEA and Norway Grants
), its participation is on an equal footing with that of EU member states. The total EEA EFTA commitment amounts to 2.4% of the overall EU programme budget.
Norway is a member of the European Economic Area
(the EU common market), the Schengen treaty (and was an associate member of the Western European Union
until the organization terminated in 2011), as well as other treaties and agreements normally considered as under the EU umbrella. Norway was a founding member of NATO in 1949.
took part in negotiating the EEA
agreement with the EU and signed the agreement on 2 May 1992 and submitted an application for accession to the EU on 20 May 1992. A Swiss referendum held on 6 December 1992 rejected EEA membership. As a consequence, the Swiss Government decided to suspend negotiations for EU accession until further notice, but its application remains open. The popular initiative entitled "Yes to Europe!", calling for the opening of immediate negotiations for EU membership, was rejected in a 4 March 2001 referendum. The Swiss Federal Council, which is in favour of EU membership, had advised the population to vote against this referendum since the preconditions for the opening of negotiations had not been met. It is thought that the fear of a loss of neutrality
and independence is the key issue against membership among eurosceptics
. Switzerland has relatively little amount of land area with agriculture, to which a large part of the EU budget goes.
EU membership continued to be the objective of the government and is a "long-term aim" of the Federal Council. Furthermore, the Swiss population agreed to their country's participation in the Schengen Agreement
. As a result of that, Switzerland joined the area in December 2008.
The Swiss federal government policy has recently undergone substantial U-turns in policy, however, concerning specific agreements with the EU on freedom of movement for people, workers and areas concerning tax evasion
have been addressed within the Swiss banking system. This was a result of the first Switzerland–EU summit in May 2004 where nine bilateral agreements were signed. Romano Prodi
, former President of the European Commission, said the agreements "moved Switzerland closer to Europe." Joseph Deiss
of the Swiss Federal Council
said, "We might not be at the very centre of Europe but we're definitely at the heart of Europe". He continued, "We're beginning a new era of relations between our two entities."
The Swiss government declared in September 2009 that bilateral treaties are not solutions and the membership debate has to be checked again.
: Andorra
, Monaco
, San Marino
, the Vatican City
, and Liechtenstein
. The last of these is a member of EFTA (see section EFTA states for its details). Monaco, San Marino and the Vatican City have all signed agreements allowing them not only to use the euro, but to mint their own coins
. They all also are de facto part of the Schengen agreement
or have a largely open border with the EU and have close relations with their neighbouring state, for example Monaco is a full part of the EU's customs
territory via France, and applies most EU measures relating to VAT
and excise duties.
Close cooperation and inclusion in systems like the Eurozone
are offered to them. This does not come without conditions. The EU requires cooperation in e.g. tax control in return. Monaco has already implemented the EU Directive on the taxation of savings interest.
is in favour.
in 2004, a move that required it to renegotiate its relations with France, which previously had the right to nominate various ministers. This was seen as part of a general move toward Europe. One concern is that, unlike the constitutional monarchies within the EU, the Prince of Monaco
has considerable executive powers and is not merely a figurehead.
(the smallest state in the world) as a theocracy
does not have the democratic credentials to join the EU and is unlikely to attain them given its unique status. Additionally its economy is also of unique non-commercial nature and thus EU membership is not discussed, even though it is in the heart of an EU member state.
, the former Soviet republics of South-east, Eastern Europe and the South Caucasus
have been looked upon as potential candidates for EU enlargement. Majority of them are or have been closely linked to Russia
and would need to concentrate more on other European partners to attain candidate status. It is expected that these states remain outside the Union for at least a significant amount of time, because they are not currently on any enlargement agenda (in contrast to the Western Balkan states, Turkey, and Iceland).
However, a summit in Mamaia
, Eastern Romania, in May 2004 showed enlargement to be a definite possibility, though only Ukraine
and Moldova
were present, as Belarus
was not concerned with membership.
The South Caucasus states of Armenia
, Azerbaijan
, and Georgia
have been the site of much instability since the 1990s. Their EU membership would be conditional on the political assessment by the European Council
about whether or not they are considered European. Nevertheless, all three states are admitted as full members into the Council of Europe
(like Cyprus
) after a similar assessment process. Before the first official visit of external relations commissioner
Benita Ferrero-Waldner
to the three Caucasus states, it was stated that if she were asked about enlargement, she would not rule it out. It is unclear as to when they may move towards membership, even though they are part of the European Neighbourhood Policy
and are often referred to as part of "a wider Europe". Since their only land contact with European states is through Russia and Turkey, it is possible that they would only join after Turkey did so first. However, on 12 January 2002, the European Parliament
noted that Armenia and Georgia may enter the EU in the future regardless.
The ENP Action Plans adopted by the EU and each individual partner state (Ukraine, Moldova, Georgia, Armenia, Azerbaijan) states that "the EU takes note of expressed European aspirations by the ENP partner".
In May 2008, Poland and Sweden put forward a joint proposal for an "Eastern Partnership
" with Ukraine, Moldova, Armenia, Azerbaijan, and Georgia, with Russia and Belarus participating in some aspects. Eventually, Belarus joined the initiative as full member, while Russia does not participate at all. The Polish foreign minister Radoslaw Sikorski
said "We all know the EU has enlargement fatigue. We have to use this time to prepare as much as possible so that when the fatigue passes, membership becomes something natural" In May 2009, the Eastern Partnership was inaugurated. Its members include the European Union as well as the post-Soviet states
Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Georgia, Moldova, and Ukraine.
With the inauguration of the second Barroso Commission in February 2010, the European Neighbourhood Policy
was transferred from the portfolio of the External Relations Commissioner
(replaced by the High Representative
) to the Enlargement Commissioner.
A Polish-Swedish authored EU strategy sees the Eastern section of the Neighbourhood policy being split off and combined with the Eastern Partnership. These states would be offered full integration short of membership, but no enlargement would be on the agenda in the short to medium term.
is geographically located entirely within Western Asia. However, like Cyprus
, it has traditionally been regarded as culturally associated with Europe because of its long historical connections with European society, including a large diaspora
and a historically Christian population.
Several Armenia
n officials have expressed the desire for their country to eventually become an EU member state, some predicting that it will make an official bid for membership in a few years. Public opinion in Armenia suggests the move for membership would be welcomed, with 64% out of a sample of 2,000 being in favour and only 11.8% being against.
Armenia is still in conflict over the status of Nagorno-Karabakh
(Artsakh) with neighbouring Azerbaijan
. Since 1994, a ceasefire has been in place, but tensions remain very high between the two countries. Although the country's economy had one of the world's fastest growth rates in the past few years,
this comes following a low base and many years of near-continuous recession. Still, Armenia, being ranked 28th, is ahead of a number of EU member nations such as Austria, France, Portugal and Italy in the 2008 Index of Economic Freedom
.
The Metsamor nuclear power plant
, which is situated some 40 km west of Yerevan, is built on top of an active seismic zone and is a matter of negotiation between Armenia and the EU. Towards the end of 2007, Armenia approved a plan to shut down the Metsamor plant in compliance with the New European Neighbourhood Policy Action Plan. This is likely to take place by 2016 when the operating term of the Metsamor facility expires.
, a majority-Shia Muslim but secular country with a Turkic
population, would need to overcome several obstacles in order to be considered a potential EU candidate. The oil-rich country has made improvements to its infrastructure, but much of the money from its very high GDP growth, one of the world's fastest, still does not seem to find its way into the lower echelons of society, despite being larger and more technologically modernised than its neighbours Georgia and Armenia. Its economy is also suffering from the "Dutch disease
," as oil is becoming its primary export, rendering the manufacturing sector less competitive. Corruption is another serious issue and recent presidential elections in Azerbaijan were disputed by the opposition and have been criticised for not being free, fair or democratic by international observers. The country also needs to resolve the conflict over Nagorno-Karabakh
with neighbouring Armenia, as the EU wishes to ease tensions in the area.
are strained as the EU has condemned the government of Belarus several times for authoritarian and anti-democratic practices, and even imposed sanctions on the country. Under its current president, Belarus has instead sought a close confederation with Russia
, short of political reunion
.
According to the initial ENP
plan in 2004 Belarus is considered a potential participant, but not yet ready. Because of warming moves by both sides, Belarus became a member of the Eastern Partnership
in 2009 despite its non-participation in the ENP.
has expressed a desire for Georgia to join the EU. This view has been explicitly expressed on several occasions as links to the United States, EU and NATO have been strengthened in an attempt to move away from the Russian sphere of influence. Territorial integrity issues in Ajaria were dealt with after the Rose Revolution
, when leader Aslan Abashidze
was forced to resign in May 2004. However, unresolved territorial integrity issues have again risen to the forefront in South Ossetia
and Abkhazia
as a result of the 2008 South Ossetia War
.
On 11 November 2010, Georgian Deputy Prime Minister Giorgi Baramidze announced that Georgia wants to cooperate with Ukraine in their attempt to join the European Union.
has stated that the country has European aspirations but there has been little progress. In 2005, the ruling Party of Communists of the Republic of Moldova reoriented their foreign policy towards Europe. The unresolved territorial integrity issue of the breakaway republic
of Transnistria
is a major barrier to any progress. On 6 October 2005, the EU opened its permanent mission in Chişinău
, the capital city of Moldova.
Moldova currently aspires to join the European Union and is implementing its first three-year action plan within the framework of the European Neighbourhood Policy (ENP) of the EU. The Partnership and Cooperation Agreement (PCA) represents the legal framework for the Republic of Moldova—European Union relationship. The agreement was signed on 28 November 1994 and entered into force on 1 July 1998 for the next 10 years. This arrangement provides for a basis of cooperation with the EU in the political, commercial, economic, legal, cultural, and scientific areas. The EU is developing an increasingly close relationship with Moldova, going beyond co-operation, to gradual economic integration and a deepening of political co-operation.
In August 2009, four Moldovan parties agreed to create a governing coalition, called Alliance For European Integration
. The Liberal Democratic Party, Liberal Party, Democratic Party, and Our Moldova have committed themselves to achieving such goals as European integration and promoting a balanced, consistent, and responsible foreign policy.
Some political parties within both Moldova and Romania advocate a merging of the two countries. Such a scenario would incorporate the current territory of Moldova into Romania and thus into the EU, though the Transnistria problem would still be an issue.
advocate joining the EU and developing ties with Europe. Since the Orange Revolution
of late 2004, Ukraine's membership prospects have improved: Opposition leader Viktor Yushchenko
hinted that he would press the EU for deeper ties, and described a four-point plan: the acknowledgment of Ukraine as a market economy, entry in the World Trade Organisation, associate membership with the EU, and lastly full membership. In a similar way, the Ukrainian government asked Brussels to give Ukraine a clearer prospect for membership, claiming that the current plan reflected only the pre-orange revolution situation. However, following ambiguous signals from the EU, Yushchenko has responded to the apathetic mood of the Commission by stating that he intends to send an application for EU membership "in the near future". In September 2009 two Ukrainian diplomats, backed by a number of others, went on record arguing that Ukraine should submit a formal application for membership in 2010 in order to get a clearer message from Brussels. If lodged in 2010, it would likely be considered a year later under the Polish EU presidency, a country which has supported Ukrainian membership. However, a 2009 poll indicates only 34% support from the Ukrainian people for membership.
Inside the EU, opinion is split. Several EU leaders have already stated strong support for closer economic ties with Ukraine but have stopped short of direct support for such a bid. In 2005, Polish Foreign Minister Adam Daniel Rotfeld
noted that Poland will in every way promote Ukraine's desire to be integrated with the EU, get the status of a market-economy country and join the WTO. Portugal also publicly stated it supports Ukraine's EU accession. On 13 January 2005 the European Parliament
almost unanimously (467 votes to 19 in favour) passed a motion
stating the wish of the Parliament to establish closer ties with Ukraine with the possibility of EU membership. A 2005 poll of the six largest EU nations showed that the European public would be more likely to accept Ukraine as a future EU member than any other country that is not currently an official candidate. The European Commission
has stated that future EU membership will not be ruled out and in 2005 Commission President
José Manuel Barroso said that the future of Ukraine is in the EU. However, the Commission suggested that the current enlargement agenda (the Western Balkans and Turkey) could block the possibility of a future accession of the Eastern Partnership
states. Enlargement Commissioner
Olli Rehn
said that the EU should avoid overstretch, adding that the current enlargement agenda is already very heavy. In 2002, then-Enlargement Commissioner Günter Verheugen
said that "a European perspective" for Ukraine
does not necessarily mean membership in 10 or 20 years, however, that does not mean it is not a possibility.
to Russia, Adilbek Dzhaksybekov
said "We would like to join in the future the European Union, but to join not as Estonia
and Latvia
, but as an equal partner". This statement is mostly visionary and about long term perspective, because currently Kazakhstan is not even participating in the European Neighbourhood Policy
(ENP) although the Kazakh Foreign Ministry has expressed interest in the ENP and MEP
s also suggested Kazakhstan's inclusion in the ENP. However, membership would require big advances in human rights
and democracy.
insisted on the creation of the four EU-Russia Common Spaces instead of ENP participation, In the framework of the EU-Russia Common Spaces in May 2005, a roadmap was adopted with similar content to the ENP Action Plans. Both the ENP and the EU-Russia Common Spaces are implemented by the EU through the European Neighbourhood and Partnership Instrument.
Among the most vocal supporters of Russian membership of the EU has been Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi
; in October 2008 he said "I consider Russia to be a Western country and my plan is for the Russian Federation to be able to become a member of the European Union in the coming years" and stated that he had this vision for years. Russian permanent representative to the EU Vladimir Chizhov commented on this by saying that Russia has no plans of joining the EU. Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin
has said that Russia joining the EU would not be in the interests of either Russia or the EU, although he advocated close integration in various dimensions including establishment of four common spaces
between Russia and the EU, including united economic, educational and scientific spaces as it was declared in the agreement in 2003.
At present, the prospect of Russia joining the EU any time in the near future is slim. Analysts have commented that Russia is "decades away" from qualifying for EU membership. Former German Chancellor Gerhard Schröder
has also said that though Russia must "find its place both in NATO, and, in the longer term, in the European Union, and if conditions are created for this to happen" that such a thing is not economically feasible in the near future.
(Article 49), it is stated that any European country (as defined by the EU political assessment) that respects the principles of the European Union may apply to join. No mention is made of enlarging the EU to include non-European countries, and the precedents of turning down Morocco
's application and defining Israel
's closest integration as "just short of full membership" suggest that currently states outside geographic Europe are unlikely to obtain full EU membership.
Despite such precedents, Cape Verde
has expressed its desire to join the EU.
However, some non-European states have different degrees of integration with the EU stipulated by agreements, always short of membership. Alternatively such countries could be integrated into a larger regional block or an overlapping block such as Nicolas Sarkozy
's proposal to create a Mediterranean Union, or a lesser organisation such as the Euro-Mediterranean free trade area
. The current frameworks for development of such agreements are the Barcelona process and the European Neighbourhood Policy
.
is an island nation
of the Atlantic Ocean and formerly a Portuguese
colony. In March 2005 former Portuguese president Mário Soares
launched a petition urging the European Union to start membership talks with it, saying that Cape Verde could act as a bridge between Africa, Latin America and the EU.
Cape Verde's per capita GDP is lower than any of the current member states, accession countries, or candidate countries. Most of the imports and exports of Cape Verde are from and to the European Union, and it has a service-based economy. Its currency, the escudo, is pegged
to the euro.
Although the Cape Verde archipelago
is geographically in Africa, there have been similar situations before. Cyprus
is an island nation which, despite being geographically in Asia, has already joined both the Council of Europe and the EU. Furthermore, the Cape Verde islands are part of the same island group as the Canary Islands
(part of Spain) and Madeira Islands (part of Portugal), known as Macaronesia
. There is currently no political recognition by the EU of Cape Verde as a European state, but unlike in the case of Morocco
, there is no formal rejection either.
Recently Cape Verde has been distancing itself from its regional African partners and forging closer ties with the EU. In a move signaling its preparation to loosen ties with the West African regional bloc, the government of Cape Verde in September 2006 declared its intentions on suspending the ECOWAS free movement of goods and trade. Prime Minister José Maria Neves
announced that his country will start imposing restrictions on the entrance of citizens from all ECOWAS member states. This is also an effort to limit the recent rise of illegal immigration of other West African nationals using Cape Verde and its proximity to the Canary Islands as a springboard towards Europe.
joining the European Union has been supported by some politicians in both Israel and Europe, including the former Israeli Foreign Minister, Silvan Shalom
, Israeli Minister of Foreign Affairs Avigdor Lieberman and former Italian Prime Minister, Silvio Berlusconi
. Two Italian MEP
s are currently campaigning in favour of Israeli membership. An opinion poll in 2004 showed that 85% of Israelis would support an application for membership. Another survey in 2011 showed support for EU membership is 81%.
The Israeli government has hinted several times that an EU membership bid is a possibility, but the EU itself proposes instead the closest possible integration "just short of full membership." Faster advancement of such plans is somewhat hampered by the current instability in the Middle East and conflicts in the West Bank
, Gaza Strip
, and Lebanon
. European public opinion of some of Israel's policies—especially those related to the aforementioned areas of conflict is, in general, poor. Proponents of Israel's accession to the EU suggest that such accession would help promote peace, because being a part of a strong alliance like the EU would allow Israel to withdraw from the occupied territories with no fear of risking its security.
The European Council
has not been asked to take a stance regarding whether or not Israel is a European state, but similar circumstances to Morocco (being geographically outside Europe and without exceptional features such as CoE membership
) will most likely preclude its inclusion as a full member into the EU as well. However, it can obtain a large degree of integration through the current and future EU Neighbourhood Policies – the former Spanish foreign minister Miguel Ángel Moratinos
spoke out for a "privileged partnership
, offering all the benefits of EU membership, without participation in the institutions". On 11 January 2005, industry commissioner and vice president of the commission Günter Verheugen
even suggested the possibility of a monetary union and common market with Israel.
An argument for the inclusion of Israel into the EU as a full member is that it has a mostly "European" (or perhaps Europeanised) culture and thus forms an exclave in a largely Arab region. Israel also has a GDP per capita similar to many European countries. Some claim that allowing Israel into the EU would create a precedent for other geographically non-European countries to apply for membership, but in fact this precedent already exists as Cyprus
, which is already a member state, is geographically in Asia. Proponents of Israel's accession to the EU claim that Israel's situation is similar to that of Cyprus—a country outside of Europe geographically, but a part of Europe culturally and socially.
submitted an application to join the EU (then EEC
) in July 1987, but it was rejected by the European Council
later in the year on the grounds that it "did not consider Morocco a European country". Although there are factors such as the developing economy or unresolved border issues with several of its neighbours and the occupation of Western Sahara
, a European Union Association Agreement
similar to that applied to Tunisia
and Algeria
is implemented between Morocco
and the EU. The Moroccan government argues that a "substantial" amount of its territory is already part of the European Union, specifically Spanish enclaves
in Northern Africa that Morocco says are occupied territory.
The only country with the status of British Overseas Territory that is part of the EU is Gibraltar
, which joined the EEC together with the United Kingdom in 1973. The other overseas territories are defined as Overseas Countries and Territories of the EU. All of them except Bermuda
are associated with the EU (meaning they apply some parts of EU law) and their nationals are in principle EU citizens.
Crown Dependencies
Special terms were negotiated for the Channel Islands
and the Isle of Man
on the UK’s accession to the European Economic Community
. These are contained in Protocol 3 to the Treaty of Accession 1973. The effect of the protocol is that the Channel Islands and the Isle of Man are within the Common Customs Area and the Common External Tariff (i.e. they enjoy access to European Union countries of physical exports without tariff barriers). Other Community rules do not apply to the Islands.
Sovereign Base Areas
The UK Sovereign Base Areas, Akrotiri and Dhekelia
on Cyprus did not join the European Union when the United Kingdom joined. Cyprus' Accession Treaty
specifically stated that this would not change with the accession of Cyprus to the European Union. However, currently, some provisions of the EU Law
are applicable there—mainly border
management, food safety
and free movement of people and goods.
The Faroe Islands
, a self-governing nation within the Kingdom of Denmark
, are not part of the EU, as explicitly asserted by both Rome treaties. The relations with the EU are governed by a Fisheries Agreement (1977) and a Free Trade Agreement (1991, revised 1998). The main reason for remaining outside the EU is disagreements about the Common Fisheries Policy
, which disfavours countries with large fish resources. Also, every member has to pay for the Common Agricultural Policy
, which favours countries having much agriculture which the Faroe Islands does not.
Nevertheless, there are politicians, mainly in the right-wing Union Party (Sambandsflokkurin), led by their chairman Kaj Leo Johannesen
, who would like to see the Faroes as a member of the EU. However, the chairman of the left-wing Republic (Tjóðveldi), Høgni Hoydal
, has expressed concerns that if the Faroes were to join the EU as is, they might vanish inside the EU, comparing this with the situation of the Shetland Islands
and Åland today, and wants the local government to solve the political situation between the Faroes and Denmark first.
On 26 September 2008, Kaj Leo Johannesen became Prime Minister of the Faroe Islands, and according to him his new government is actively going to seek a progressive Europe-policy, even stating that membership of the EU is a strong possibility.
Greenland
Greenland
, a self-governing community that is part of the Kingdom of Denmark
, is the only country to have left the EEC or EU. After the establishment of Greenland's home rule
in 1979 (effective from 1980), a second referendum on membership was held, where the people decided to leave the EEC. On 1 February 1985, Greenland
left the EEC
and EURATOM. Its status was changed to that of an Overseas Country. Danish nationals residing in Greenland (i.e. all native population) are nonetheless fully European citizens; they are not, however, entitled to vote in European elections.
There has been some speculation as to whether Greenland may consider rejoining the European Union. On 4 January 2007 the Danish daily Jyllands-Posten
quoted the former Danish minister for Greenland
, Tom Høyem
, as saying "I would not be surprised if Greenland again becomes a member of the EU... The EU needs the Arctic window and Greenland cannot alone manage the gigantic Arctic possibilities".
, Curaçao
, Sint Maarten are constituent countries of the Kingdom of the Netherlands
, while Bonaire, Sint Eustatius and Saba are special Dutch municipalities
. All are Overseas Countries and Territories (OCT) under Annex II of the EC treaty. OCTs are considered to be "associated" with the EU and apply some portions of EU law. The islands are opting to become an Outermost Region (OMR) of the EU, the same status the Azores
, Madeira
, the Canary Islands
and the French overseas departments have.
When Bonaire, Sint Eustatius and Saba were established as Dutch public bodies after the dissolution of the Netherlands Antilles (which was an OCT) in 2010, their status within the EU were raised. Rather than change their status from an OCT to an outermost region, as their change in status within the Netherlands would imply, it was decided that their status would remain the same for at least five years. After those five years, their status would be reviewed.
If it was decided that one or all of the islands wish to integrate more with the EU then the Treaty of Lisbon
provides for that following a unanimous decision from the European Council
. Former European Commissioner for Enlargement
Danuta Hübner
has said before the European Parliament
that she doesn't expect many problems to occur with such a status change, as the islands consist of only a few thousand people.
, Guadeloupe
, Martinique
, Mayotte
and Réunion
are overseas departments of France and at the same time mono-departmental overseas regions. According to the EC treaty (article 299 2), these overseas departments are outermost regions (OMR) of the EU—hence provisions of the EC treaty apply there while derogations are allowed. The status of the overseas collectivities of Saint-Barthelemy and Saint-Martin is also defined as OMR by the Treaty of Lisbon
. New Caledonia and the overseas collectivities of French Polynesia, Saint Pierre et Miquelon and Wallis and Futuna are Overseas Countries and Territories of the EU.
New Caledonia
New Caledonia
has a unique status inside France and is not even a collectivité territoriale
, unlike all other French subdivisions. Currently, in regard to the EU, it is one of the Overseas Countries and Territories (OCT).
As a result of the 1998 Nouméa Accord
, New Caledonians will vote on an independence referendum scheduled between 2014 and 2019. This referendum will determine whether the territory remains a part of the French Republic as a "sui generis collectivity", or whether it will become an independent nation. The accords also specify a gradual devolution of powers to the local New Caledonian assembly.
Saint Barthélemy
Saint Martin and Saint-Barthélemy in 2007 seceded from Guadeloupe
and became overseas collectivities of France, but at the same time remained OMR
s of the European Union. Later, the elected representatives of the island of Saint-Barthélemy expressed desire "to obtain a European status which would be better suited to its status under domestic law, particularly given its remoteness
from the mainland, its small insular economy largely devoted to tourism and subject to difficulties in obtaining supplies which hamper the application of some European Union standards
." France, reflecting this desire, requested at the Council of the European Union
to change the status of Saint Barthélemy to an OCT associated with the European Union.
It is expected that the status change will be in effect from 1 January 2012.
is part of the European Union, under the de jure
sovereignty of the Republic of Cyprus. Turkish Cypriots
are citizens of the Republic of Cyprus and thus of the European Union, and were entitled to vote in the 2004 European Parliament election
(though only a few hundred registered). The EU's acquis communautaire is suspended indefinitely in the northern third of the island, which has remained outside the control of the Republic of Cyprus since the Turkish invasion of 1974
. The Greek Cypriot
community rejected the Annan Plan
for the settlement of the Cyprus dispute
in a referendum on 24 April 2004. Had the referendum been in favour of the settlement proposal, the island (excluding the British Sovereign Base Areas
) would have joined the European Union as the United Cyprus Republic.
The European Union's relations with the Turkish Cypriot Community are handled by the European Commission
's Directorate-General for Enlargement
.
, Flanders
, and Scotland
. At present, only one region or territory of an existing EU member state, Algeria
, has seceded and became an independent state (from France), and if such a scenario were to occur there is uncertainty as to what would happen if the new country wished to remain a part of the EU. The Commission
has so far refused to form an official position on such scenarios, considering them "entirely hypothetical".
One close precedent to such a scenario would be Greenland voting to leave the European Economic Community
(the predecessor to the EU) after gaining greater autonomy
from Denmark
in 1982. However, the similarity between this and other proposed scenarios is disputed. If a seceding province/country re-applied for EU membership, such a country would likely have no problems in meeting the criteria for membership as it already complies with EU law.
In case of a Flemish secession from Belgium, the future status of Brussels
(the de facto capital of the EU
) could be unclear. There are proposals for Brussels to become an EU capital district (such as Canberra
, Washington, D.C.
or Brasília
) or member state with heavy involvement and subsidy from the EU.
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
an country which is democratic
Representative democracy
Representative democracy is a form of government founded on the principle of elected individuals representing the people, as opposed to autocracy and direct democracy...
, operates a free market
Free market
A free market is a competitive market where prices are determined by supply and demand. However, the term is also commonly used for markets in which economic intervention and regulation by the state is limited to tax collection, and enforcement of private ownership and contracts...
and is willing and able to implement all previous European Union law. Past enlargement
Enlargement of the European Union
The Enlargement of the European Union is the process of expanding the European Union through the accession of new member states. This process began with the Inner Six, who founded the European Coal and Steel Community in 1952...
has brought membership from six to twenty-seven members since the foundation of the European Union
European Union
The European Union is an economic and political union of 27 independent member states which are located primarily in Europe. The EU traces its origins from the European Coal and Steel Community and the European Economic Community , formed by six countries in 1958...
(EU) as the European Coal and Steel Community
European Coal and Steel Community
The European Coal and Steel Community was a six-nation international organisation serving to unify Western Europe during the Cold War and create the foundation for the modern-day developments of the European Union...
by the Inner Six
Inner Six
The Inner Six, or simply The Six, are the six founding member states of the European Communities. This was in contrast to the outer seven who formed the European Free Trade Association rather than be involved in supranational European integration .-History:The inner six are those who responded to...
in 1952. The accession criteria are included in the Copenhagen criteria
Copenhagen criteria
The Copenhagen criteria are the rules that define whether a country is eligible to join the European Union. The criteria require that a state has the institutions to preserve democratic governance and human rights, has a functioning market economy, and accepts the obligations and intent of the EU...
, agreed in 1993, and the Treaty of Maastricht
Maastricht Treaty
The Maastricht Treaty was signed on 7 February 1992 by the members of the European Community in Maastricht, Netherlands. On 9–10 December 1991, the same city hosted the European Council which drafted the treaty...
(Article 49). Whether a country is European or not is a subject to political assessment by the EU institutions.
At present, there are five recognised candidates for membership (and one to be approved in December 2011): Montenegro
Accession of Montenegro to the European Union
The State Union of Serbia and Montenegro started the process of Accession to the European Union in November 2005, when negotiations over a Stabilisation and Association Agreement began. In May 2006, Montenegro voted for independence in a referendum and the State Union of Serbia and Montenegro was...
(applied 2008), Croatia
Accession of Croatia to the European Union
Croatia applied for European Union membership in 2003, and the European Commission recommended making it an official candidate in early 2004. Candidate country status was granted to Croatia by the European Council in mid-2004...
(applied 2003), Iceland (applied 2009), Macedonia (applied 2004), Turkey
Accession of Turkey to the European Union
Turkey's application to accede to the European Union was made on 14 April 1987. Turkey has been an associate member of the European Union and its predecessors since 1963...
(applied 1987) and also, Serbia
Accession of Serbia to the European Union
The accession of Serbia to the European Union is the process of the Republic of Serbia being admitted into the framework of the European Union as a full-fledged member state.Serbia officially applied for European Union membership on 22 December 2009...
(applied 2009). Macedonia, Montenegro and Serbia have not yet started negotiations to join. The other states in the Western Balkans—Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina and Serbia—have signed Stabilisation and Association Agreements (SAA) with the EU, which generally precede the lodging of membership applications. Albania (April 2009) and Serbia
Serbia
Serbia , officially the Republic of Serbia , is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central and Southeast Europe, covering the southern part of the Carpathian basin and the central part of the Balkans...
(December 2009) have already applied for membership, but the European Commission has as of October 2011 only recommended Serbia's official candidate status.
On Central and Eastern European countries not being parts of the EU, Heather Grabbe (UK) of the Centre for European Reform
Centre for European Reform
The Centre for European Reform is a London-based think tank which supports European integration while arguing for institutional reform of the European Union...
commented: "Belarus
Belarus
Belarus , officially the Republic of Belarus, is a landlocked country in Eastern Europe, bordered clockwise by Russia to the northeast, Ukraine to the south, Poland to the west, and Lithuania and Latvia to the northwest. Its capital is Minsk; other major cities include Brest, Grodno , Gomel ,...
is too authoritarian, Moldova
Moldova
Moldova , officially the Republic of Moldova is a landlocked state in Eastern Europe, located between Romania to the West and Ukraine to the North, East and South. It declared itself an independent state with the same boundaries as the preceding Moldavian Soviet Socialist Republic in 1991, as part...
too poor, Ukraine
Ukraine
Ukraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It has an area of 603,628 km², making it the second largest contiguous country on the European continent, after Russia...
too large, and Russia
Russia
Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
too scary for the EU to contemplate offering membership any time soon." This was confirmed by a Polish-Swedish authored EU strategy which outlined full integration short of membership being offered to states in the East of Europe but no enlargement perspective offered in the short to medium term.
Current agenda
The present enlargement agenda of the European Union regards TurkeyTurkey
Turkey , known officially as the Republic of Turkey , is a Eurasian country located in Western Asia and in East Thrace in Southeastern Europe...
, the Western Balkans and Iceland
Iceland
Iceland , described as the Republic of Iceland, is a Nordic and European island country in the North Atlantic Ocean, on the Mid-Atlantic Ridge. Iceland also refers to the main island of the country, which contains almost all the population and almost all the land area. The country has a population...
. Turkey has a long standing application with the EU but the negotiations are expected to take many more years. As for the Western Balkan states, the EU had pledged to include them after their civil wars
Yugoslav wars
The Yugoslav Wars were a series of wars, fought throughout the former Yugoslavia between 1991 and 1995. The wars were complex: characterized by bitter ethnic conflicts among the peoples of the former Yugoslavia, mostly between Serbs on the one side and Croats and Bosniaks on the other; but also...
: in fact, one state has entered, three are candidates, two have applied and the others have pre-accession agreements. Finally, Iceland has recently applied and, if sensitive negotiations over fishing
Common Fisheries Policy
The Common Fisheries Policy is the fisheries policy of the European Union . It sets quotas for which member states are allowed to catch what amounts of each type of fish, as well as encouraging the fishing industry by various market interventions...
can be overcome, is expected to complete negotiations rapidly due to its membership of the European Economic Area
European Economic Area
The European Economic Area was established on 1 January 1994 following an agreement between the member states of the European Free Trade Association and the European Community, later the European Union . Specifically, it allows Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway to participate in the EU's Internal...
.
There are however other states in Europe which either seek membership or could potentially apply if their present foreign policy changes, or the EU gives a signal that they might now be included on the enlargement agenda. However, these are not formally part of the current agenda, which is already delayed due to bilateral disputes in the Balkans and difficulty in fully implementing the acquis communautaire (the accepted body of EU law).
| State |
Status |
Association Agreement |
Applied for Membership |
Candidate status |
Start of negotiations |
Screening completed |
Acquis Chapters open/closed |
Population |
Area (km²) |
|
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 Albania |
Albania Accession of Albania to the European Union Albania applied for European Union membership on 28 April 2009 and is expected to join in 2015. Officially recognized by the EU as a "potential candidate country", Albania started negotiations on a Stabilisation and Association Agreement in 2003... |
(SAA Stabilisation and Association process In talks with countries who have expressed a wish to join the European Union, the EU typically concludes Association Agreements in exchange for commitments to political, economic, trade, or human rights reform in that country... ) |
– | – | – | – | 3,639,453 | 28,748 | ||
 Bosnia and Herzegovina |
Bosnia and Herzegovina Accession of Bosnia and Herzegovina to the European Union The accession of Bosnia and Herzegovina to the European Union is the aim of the present relations between the two entities. Bosnia and Herzegovina has been recognised by the EU as a "potential candidate country" for accession since the decision of the European Council in Thessaloniki in 2003... |
(SAA) | – | – | – | – | – | 3,981,239 | 51,129 | |
 Independent State of Croatia |
Croatia Accession of Croatia to the European Union Croatia applied for European Union membership in 2003, and the European Commission recommended making it an official candidate in early 2004. Candidate country status was granted to Croatia by the European Council in mid-2004... |
(SAA) | 33/33 of 33 | 4,489,409 | 56,542 | |||||
 Iceland |
Iceland | (EEA European Economic Area The European Economic Area was established on 1 January 1994 following an agreement between the member states of the European Free Trade Association and the European Community, later the European Union . Specifically, it allows Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway to participate in the EU's Internal... ) |
6/4 of 33 | 319,756 | 103,001 | |||||
| Kosovo (UNSCR 1244) | – | – | – | – | – | – | 1,830,000 | 10,908 | ||
 Republic of Macedonia |
Macedonia | (SAA) | – | – | – | 2,114,550 | 25,713 | |||
 Kingdom of Montenegro |
Montenegro Accession of Montenegro to the European Union The State Union of Serbia and Montenegro started the process of Accession to the European Union in November 2005, when negotiations over a Stabilisation and Association Agreement began. In May 2006, Montenegro voted for independence in a referendum and the State Union of Serbia and Montenegro was... |
(SAA) | – | – | – | 678,177 | 13,812 | |||
 Serbia |
Serbia Accession of Serbia to the European Union The accession of Serbia to the European Union is the process of the Republic of Serbia being admitted into the framework of the European Union as a full-fledged member state.Serbia officially applied for European Union membership on 22 December 2009... |
(SAA) |
| –
| –
| –
| style="text-align:right" | 7,275,000
| style="text-align:right" | 88,361
|-
! style="border-right:1px solid #f2f2f2; background:#F2F2F2; text-align:left;" |
Turkey! style="background:#F2F2F2; text-align:left;" | Turkey
Accession of Turkey to the European Union
Turkey's application to accede to the European Union was made on 14 April 1987. Turkey has been an associate member of the European Union and its predecessors since 1963...
|
| (AA
Ankara Agreement
The Agreement Creating An Association Between The Republic of Turkey and the European Economic Community , made in 1963, is an agreement aiming towards the accession of Turkey into the European Economic Community ....
)
|
|
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Recognised candidates
There are at present five "candidate countries", who have applied to the EU and been accepted in principle. These states have begun, or will begin shortly, the accession process by adopting EU law to bring the states in line with the rest of the Union. Croatia, Macedonia and Montenegro have applied recently and are states of the former YugoslaviaYugoslavia
Yugoslavia refers to three political entities that existed successively on the western part of the Balkans during most of the 20th century....
(all other successor states are planning to join the EU) but Turkey is a long-standing candidate, having applied in 1987 and gaining candidate status in 1999. This is due to both the complex nature of bringing Turkey into line with EU standards and also the political issues surrounding the accession of the country.
Croatia
Croatia
Croatia , officially the Republic of Croatia , is a unitary democratic parliamentary republic in Europe at the crossroads of the Mitteleuropa, the Balkans, and the Mediterranean. Its capital and largest city is Zagreb. The country is divided into 20 counties and the city of Zagreb. Croatia covers ...
applied for membership in 2003 and is expected to join in 2013. After Slovenia
Slovenia
Slovenia , officially the Republic of Slovenia , is a country in Central and Southeastern Europe touching the Alps and bordering the Mediterranean. Slovenia borders Italy to the west, Croatia to the south and east, Hungary to the northeast, and Austria to the north, and also has a small portion of...
, Croatia has recovered best from the break-up of the former Yugoslavia and pushed to become the second former Yugoslav state to join. It has a stable market economy, and has had better statistical indicators (such as GDP per capita) than seven EU countries (Bulgaria, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland and Romania).
Negotiations had been held up by a border dispute with Slovenia but in June 2011 the Commission recommended the last chapters be concluded. The European Council agreed and accession negotiations were concluded on 30 June 2011. Signing of the Treaty of Accession should take place by the end of 2011. The Commission foresees Croatia joining on 1 July 2013.
Despite the recommendation in favour of accession, it will be closely monitored until accession to ensure it continues to reform. It will not however be subject to Mechanism for Cooperation and Verification
Mechanism for Cooperation and Verification
The Mechanism for Cooperation and Verification is safeguard measure invoked by the European Commission in case some new member or acceding state of the European Union has failed to implement commitments undertaken in the context of the accession negotiations in the fields of the Area of freedom,...
(CVM) that Bulgaria and Romania were subject to.
Iceland
Iceland
Iceland , described as the Republic of Iceland, is a Nordic and European island country in the North Atlantic Ocean, on the Mid-Atlantic Ridge. Iceland also refers to the main island of the country, which contains almost all the population and almost all the land area. The country has a population...
applied to join the EU in July 2009 following an economic downturn. Prior to that, its relations with the EU were defined by its membership of the European Economic Area
European Economic Area
The European Economic Area was established on 1 January 1994 following an agreement between the member states of the European Free Trade Association and the European Community, later the European Union . Specifically, it allows Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway to participate in the EU's Internal...
(EEA), which gave it access to the EU's single market
Single market
A single market is a type of trade bloc which is composed of a free trade area with common policies on product regulation, and freedom of movement of the factors of production and of enterprise and services. The goal is that the movement of capital, labour, goods, and services between the members...
, and the Schengen treaty. As a result of the membership of the EEA, Iceland already applies many major economic EU laws and negotiations are expected to proceed rapidly (although 2005 research by the EFTA Secretariat found the exact percentage of laws adopted to be only 6.5%; see below for European Commission assessment).
Like in Norway
Norway
Norway , officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic unitary constitutional monarchy whose territory comprises the western portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula, Jan Mayen, and the Arctic archipelago of Svalbard and Bouvet Island. Norway has a total area of and a population of about 4.9 million...
, fear of losing control over the fishery resources in its territorial waters was the single largest issue that kept Iceland reluctant to join the EU. However, the strong effect of the economic crisis of 2008 on Iceland accelerated the debate considerably and the Independence Party
Independence Party (Iceland)
The Independence Party is a centre-right political party in Iceland. Liberal conservative and Eurosceptic, it is the second-largest party in the Althing, with sixteen seats. The chairman of the party is Bjarni Benediktsson and vice chairman is Ólöf Nordal....
, the largest opposing party, agreed to opening accession negotiations after a referendum (in addition to a final referendum). A proposal to begin negotiations with the EU was put before the Icelandic parliament
Althing
The Alþingi, anglicised variously as Althing or Althingi, is the national parliament of Iceland. The Althingi is the oldest parliamentary institution in the world still extant...
in July 2009 and approved (without a pre-negotiation referendum) by a slim majority on 16 July 2009. Iceland submitted its application to the Swedish presidency in a letter dated 16 July. The application was acknowledged by the Council of the European Union
Council of the European Union
The Council of the European Union is the institution in the legislature of the European Union representing the executives of member states, the other legislative body being the European Parliament. The Council is composed of twenty-seven national ministers...
on 27 July. On 8 September, the EU commission sent a list of 2,500 questions to Iceland about its fulfilment of convergence criteria and adoption of EU law. Iceland returned answers to the commission on 22 October 2009. On 2 November, Iceland selected a chief negotiator for the coming membership negotiations with the EU: Stefan Haukur Johannesson, Iceland's Ambassador to Belgium. In February 2010, the European Commissioner for Enlargement and European Neighbourhood Policy recommended to the Council of the European Union to start accession negotiations with Iceland. The European Council
European Council
The European Council is an institution of the European Union. It comprises the heads of state or government of the EU member states, along with the President of the European Commission and the President of the European Council, currently Herman Van Rompuy...
decided in June that negotiations shall start, and on 17 June 2010, the EU granted official candidate status to Iceland by formally approving the opening of membership talks. On 26 July 2010, the European Union foreign ministers formally gave the green light for negotiations to begin and agreed to start the talks on the following day.
The first annual report on negotiations was published in November 2010; the main issues at stake remain the fisheries sector and whale hunting, while progress has been made concerning the Icesave dispute.
Macedonia
MacedoniaRepublic of Macedonia
Macedonia , officially the Republic of Macedonia , is a country located in the central Balkan peninsula in Southeast Europe. It is one of the successor states of the former Yugoslavia, from which it declared independence in 1991...
applied to become an official candidate on 22 March 2004. On 9 November 2005, the European Commission recommended that it attain candidate status. EU leaders agreed to this recommendation on 17 December, formally naming the country an official candidate. However, no starting date for negotiations has been announced yet.
Peace is maintained with underlying ethnic tensions over Albanians in the west of the country, who achieved greater autonomy through the implementation of the Ohrid Accords
Ohrid Agreement
The Ohrid Framework Agreement was the peace deal signed by the government of the Republic of Macedonia and ethnic Albanian representatives on August 13, 2001...
. Unlike Serbia, Macedonia has maintained sovereignty over all its territory. Prime Minister Nikola Gruevski
Nikola Gruevski
Nikola Gruevski has been Prime Minister of the Republic of Macedonia since 27 August 2006. He has led VMRO-DPMNE since May 2003. He was Minister of Finance in the VMRO-DPMNE government led by Ljubčo Georgievski until September 2002.- Personal life :...
has suggested that the country could join the EU in 2012 or 2013. However, the EU has not yet recognised this suggested time period.
On 17 December 2005, the European Council
European Council
The European Council is an institution of the European Union. It comprises the heads of state or government of the EU member states, along with the President of the European Commission and the President of the European Council, currently Herman Van Rompuy...
welcomed and congratulated the country's achievements in implementing multiple reforms and agreements (Copenhagen criteria
Copenhagen criteria
The Copenhagen criteria are the rules that define whether a country is eligible to join the European Union. The criteria require that a state has the institutions to preserve democratic governance and human rights, has a functioning market economy, and accepts the obligations and intent of the EU...
, Stabilisation and Association process
Stabilisation and Association process
In talks with countries who have expressed a wish to join the European Union, the EU typically concludes Association Agreements in exchange for commitments to political, economic, trade, or human rights reform in that country...
, Ohrid Agreement
Ohrid Agreement
The Ohrid Framework Agreement was the peace deal signed by the government of the Republic of Macedonia and ethnic Albanian representatives on August 13, 2001...
).
The country has a dispute over its name with its southern neighbour and current EU member, Greece
Greece
Greece , officially the Hellenic Republic , and historically Hellas or the Republic of Greece in English, is a country in southeastern Europe....
. Greece rejects the name "Macedonia" because it says it implies territorial ambitions towards Greece's own northern province of Macedonia
Macedonia (Greece)
Macedonia is a geographical and historical region of Greece in Southern Europe. Macedonia is the largest and second most populous Greek region...
(see: Macedonia naming dispute
Macedonia naming dispute
A diplomatic dispute over the use of the name Macedonia has been an ongoing issue in the bilateral relations between Greece and the Republic of Macedonia since the latter became independent from former Yugoslavia in 1991...
). Because of this, the EU refers to the country only by the provisional appellation "the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia" (FYRoM). The resolution of the name issue has become a precondition for accession, since Greece has repeatedly confirmed it would use its right to block accession without a prior settlement. Concerns over the country's difficulties in reaching European standards on the rule of law and the economy and over violence and irregularities in the 2008 parliamentary elections have also cast doubts on the country's candidacy.
Montenegro
In the independence referendumMontenegrin independence referendum, 2006
The Montenegrin independence referendum was a referendum on the independence of the Republic of Montenegro from the State Union of Serbia and Montenegro that was held on 21 May 2006.The total turnout of the referendum was 86.5%...
of 21 May 2006, the Montenegrin people voted for Montenegro
Montenegro
Montenegro Montenegrin: Crna Gora Црна Гора , meaning "Black Mountain") is a country located in Southeastern Europe. It has a coast on the Adriatic Sea to the south-west and is bordered by Croatia to the west, Bosnia and Herzegovina to the northwest, Serbia to the northeast and Albania to the...
to leave the state union of Serbia and Montenegro
Serbia and Montenegro
Serbia and Montenegro was a country in southeastern Europe, formed from two former republics of the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia : Serbia and Montenegro. Following the breakup of Yugoslavia, it was established in 1992 as a federation called the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia...
and become an independent state. After obtaining independence, Montenegro officially submitted its EU membership application to the European Commission
European Commission
The European Commission is the executive body of the European Union. The body is responsible for proposing legislation, implementing decisions, upholding the Union's treaties and the general day-to-day running of the Union....
(EC) on 15 December 2008. However, Montenegro has been experiencing ecological, judicial and crime-related problems that could slow or hinder its bid.
Montenegro unilaterally adopted the euro
Euro
The euro is the official currency of the eurozone: 17 of the 27 member states of the European Union. It is also the currency used by the Institutions of the European Union. The eurozone consists of Austria, Belgium, Cyprus, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg,...
as its currency at its launch in 2002, having previously used the German mark
German mark
The Deutsche Mark |mark]], abbreviated "DM") was the official currency of West Germany and Germany until the adoption of the euro in 2002. It is commonly called the "Deutschmark" in English but not in German. Germans often say "Mark" or "D-Mark"...
. Negotiations over the Stabilisation and Association Agreement (SAA) started in September 2006. SAA was officially signed on 15 October 2007 and came into force on 1 May 2010, after all the 27 member-states of EU had ratified it.
On 22 July 2009, a questionnaire to assess Montenegro's application was presented to the Montenegrin Government by the EC. On 9 December 2009, Montenegro delivered its answers to the EC questionnaire. On 9 November 2010, the European Commission
European Commission
The European Commission is the executive body of the European Union. The body is responsible for proposing legislation, implementing decisions, upholding the Union's treaties and the general day-to-day running of the Union....
recommended that the Council of the European Union
Council of the European Union
The Council of the European Union is the institution in the legislature of the European Union representing the executives of member states, the other legislative body being the European Parliament. The Council is composed of twenty-seven national ministers...
grant Montenegro the status of candidate country. On 17 December 2010, Montenegro became an official EU candidate country.
Montenegro's population is overwhelmingly for joining the EU, 76.2% being in favour according to polling and only 9.8% against.
Turkey
Turkey
Turkey , known officially as the Republic of Turkey , is a Eurasian country located in Western Asia and in East Thrace in Southeastern Europe...
with regard to the EU has become a matter of major significance and considerable controversy in recent years. Turkey is one of the founding members of the Council of Europe
Council of Europe
The Council of Europe is an international organisation promoting co-operation between all countries of Europe in the areas of legal standards, human rights, democratic development, the rule of law and cultural co-operation...
since 1949 and has been an "associate member" of the European Union and its predecessors since 1964, as a result of the EEC–Turkey Association Agreement
Ankara Agreement
The Agreement Creating An Association Between The Republic of Turkey and the European Economic Community , made in 1963, is an agreement aiming towards the accession of Turkey into the European Economic Community ....
(Ankara Agreement) that was signed on 12 September 1963. The country formally applied for full membership on 14 April 1987, but 12 years passed before it was recognised as a candidate country at the Helsinki Summit in 1999. After a summit in Brussels on 17 December 2004 (following the major 2004 enlargement
2004 enlargement of the European Union
The 2004 enlargement of the European Union was the largest single expansion of the European Union , both in terms of territory, number of states and population, however not in terms of gross domestic product...
), the European Council announced that membership negotiations with Turkey were officially opened on 3 October 2005. The screening process which began on 20 October 2005 was completed on 18 October 2006.
Turkey, with the seventh largest economy
Economy of Turkey
The economy of Turkey is defined as an emerging market economy by the IMF and is largely developed, making Turkey one of the world's newly industrialized countries. The country is among the world's leading producers of agricultural products; textiles; motor vehicles, ships and other transportation...
in the Council of Europe
Council of Europe
The Council of Europe is an international organisation promoting co-operation between all countries of Europe in the areas of legal standards, human rights, democratic development, the rule of law and cultural co-operation...
and the fifteenth largest economy in the world, is part of the common EU customs territory
Customs union
A customs union is a type of trade bloc which is composed of a free trade area with a common external tariff. The participant countries set up common external trade policy, but in some cases they use different import quotas...
since the entering into force of the EU–Turkey Customs Union in 1996. Turkey was a founding member of the OECD in 1961, a founding member of the OSCE in 1973 and has been an associate member of the Western European Union
Western European Union
The Western European Union was an international organisation tasked with implementing the Modified Treaty of Brussels , an amended version of the original 1948 Treaty of Brussels...
since 1992. Turkey is also a founding member of the G-20 major economies
G-20 major economies
The Group of Twenty Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors is a group of finance ministers and central bank governors from 20 major economies: 19 countries plus the European Union, which is represented by the President of the European Council and by the European Central Bank...
(1999) which has close ties with the European Union.
Proponents of Turkey's membership argue that it is a key regional power
Regional power
In international relations, a regional power is a state that has power within a geographic region. States which wield unrivaled power and influence within a region of the world possess regional hegemony.-Characteristics:...
with a large economy
Economy of Turkey
The economy of Turkey is defined as an emerging market economy by the IMF and is largely developed, making Turkey one of the world's newly industrialized countries. The country is among the world's leading producers of agricultural products; textiles; motor vehicles, ships and other transportation...
and the second largest military force of NATO
Turkish Armed Forces
The Turkish Armed Forces are the military forces of the Republic of Turkey. They consist of the Army, the Navy , and the Air Force...
that will enhance the EU's position as a global geostrategic player; given Turkey's geographic location and economic, political and cultural ties in regions with that are in the immediate vicinity of the EU's geopolitical sphere of influence; such as the East Mediterranean
Mediterranean Sea
The Mediterranean Sea is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean surrounded by the Mediterranean region and almost completely enclosed by land: on the north by Anatolia and Europe, on the south by North Africa, and on the east by the Levant...
and Black Sea
Black Sea
The Black Sea is bounded by Europe, Anatolia and the Caucasus and is ultimately connected to the Atlantic Ocean via the Mediterranean and the Aegean seas and various straits. The Bosphorus strait connects it to the Sea of Marmara, and the strait of the Dardanelles connects that sea to the Aegean...
coasts, the Balkan peninsula, the Middle East
Middle East
The Middle East is a region that encompasses Western Asia and Northern Africa. It is often used as a synonym for Near East, in opposition to Far East...
, the Caspian Sea
Caspian Sea
The Caspian Sea is the largest enclosed body of water on Earth by area, variously classed as the world's largest lake or a full-fledged sea. The sea has a surface area of and a volume of...
basin and Central Asia
Central Asia
Central Asia is a core region of the Asian continent from the Caspian Sea in the west, China in the east, Afghanistan in the south, and Russia in the north...
.
According to Carl Bildt
Carl Bildt
, Honorary KCMG is a Swedish politician, diplomat and nobleman. Formerly Prime Minister of Sweden from 1991 to 1994 and leader of the liberal conservative Moderate Party from 1986 to 1999, Bildt has served as Swedish Minister for Foreign Affairs since 6 October 2006...
, Swedish foreign minister
Minister for Foreign Affairs (Sweden)
The Minister for Foreign Affairs is the foreign minister of Sweden and the head of the Ministry for Foreign Affairs.The office was instituted in 1809 as a result of the constitutional Instrument of Government promulgated in the same year. Until 1876 the office was called Prime Minister for Foreign...
, "[The accession of Turkey] would give the EU a decisive role for stability in the Eastern part of the Mediterranean and the Black Sea, which is clearly in the strategic interest of Europe." One of Turkey's key supporters for its bid to join the EU is the United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
. In May 2008, Queen Elizabeth II said during a visit to Turkey, that "Turkey is uniquely positioned as a bridge between the East and West at a crucial time for the European Union and the world in general."
However others, such as French President Nicolas Sarkozy
Nicolas Sarkozy
Nicolas Sarkozy is the 23rd and current President of the French Republic and ex officio Co-Prince of Andorra. He assumed the office on 16 May 2007 after defeating the Socialist Party candidate Ségolène Royal 10 days earlier....
and German Chancellor Angela Merkel
Angela Merkel
Angela Dorothea Merkel is the current Chancellor of Germany . Merkel, elected to the Bundestag from Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, has been the chairwoman of the Christian Democratic Union since 2000, and chairwoman of the CDU-CSU parliamentary coalition from 2002 to 2005.From 2005 to 2009 she led a...
, maintain an opposition to Turkey's membership. Opponents argue that Turkey does not respect the key principles that are expected in a liberal democracy
Liberal democracy
Liberal democracy, also known as constitutional democracy, is a common form of representative democracy. According to the principles of liberal democracy, elections should be free and fair, and the political process should be competitive...
, such as the freedom of expression, with potentially repressive laws like Article 301
Article 301 (Turkish penal code)
Article 301 is a controversial article of the Turkish Penal Code making it illegal to insult Turkey, the Turkish ethnicity, or Turkish government institutions...
(A law which states it is illegal to "insult the Turkish nation"); and because of the significant role of the army on the Turkish administrative foreground through the National Security Council
National Security Council (Turkey)
The National Security Council comprises the Chief of Staff, select members of the Council of Ministers, and the President of the Republic...
; whose military-dominated structure was reformed on 23 July 2003, in line with the requests from the EU. Turkey's large population would also alter the balance of power in the representative European institutions. Upon joining the EU, Turkey's 70 million inhabitants would bestow it the second largest number of MEP
Member of the European Parliament
A Member of the European Parliament is a person who has been elected to the European Parliament. The name of MEPs differ in different languages, with terms such as europarliamentarian or eurodeputy being common in Romance language-speaking areas.When the European Parliament was first established,...
s in the European Parliament
European Parliament
The European Parliament is the directly elected parliamentary institution of the European Union . Together with the Council of the European Union and the Commission, it exercises the legislative function of the EU and it has been described as one of the most powerful legislatures in the world...
. Demographic projections indicate that Turkey would surpass Germany in the number of seats by 2020.
Other opponents to Turkey's membership state that it would also affect future enlargement plans, especially the number of nations seeking EU membership, grounds by which Valéry Giscard d'Estaing
Valéry Giscard d'Estaing
Valéry Marie René Georges Giscard d'Estaing is a French centre-right politician who was President of the French Republic from 1974 until 1981...
has opposed Turkey's admission. Giscard d'Estaing has suggested that it would lead to demands for accession by Morocco
Morocco
Morocco , officially the Kingdom of Morocco , is a country located in North Africa. It has a population of more than 32 million and an area of 710,850 km², and also primarily administers the disputed region of the Western Sahara...
. Morocco's application is already rejected on geographic grounds, and Turkey, unlike Morocco, has territory in Europe. French President Nicolas Sarkozy
Nicolas Sarkozy
Nicolas Sarkozy is the 23rd and current President of the French Republic and ex officio Co-Prince of Andorra. He assumed the office on 16 May 2007 after defeating the Socialist Party candidate Ségolène Royal 10 days earlier....
(then a candidate) stated in January 2007 that "enlarging Europe with no limit risks destroying European political union, and that I do not accept...I want to say that Europe must give itself borders, that not all countries have a vocation to become members of Europe, beginning with Turkey which has no place inside the European Union." Further, some oppose the accession of a largely Muslim country. In 2004, future President of the European Council
President of the European Council
The President of the European Council is a principal representative of the European Union on the world stage, and the person presiding over and driving forward the work of the European Council...
Herman Van Rompuy
Herman Van Rompuy
Herman Achille Van Rompuy is the first long-term and full-time President of the European Council...
stated "An enlargement [of the EU] with Turkey is not in any way comparable with previous enlargement waves. Turkey is not Europe and will never be Europe." He continued "But it's a matter of fact that the universal values which are in force in Europe, and which are also the fundamental values of Christianity, will lose vigour with the entry of a large Islamic country such as Turkey."
Only a small fraction of Turkish territory lies in the present common geographical definition of Europe, with approximately 94% its land mass being in Asia
Asia
Asia is the world's largest and most populous continent, located primarily in the eastern and northern hemispheres. It covers 8.7% of the Earth's total surface area and with approximately 3.879 billion people, it hosts 60% of the world's current human population...
. On the other hand, the country's largest city, Istanbul
Istanbul
Istanbul , historically known as Byzantium and Constantinople , is the largest city of Turkey. Istanbul metropolitan province had 13.26 million people living in it as of December, 2010, which is 18% of Turkey's population and the 3rd largest metropolitan area in Europe after London and...
, lies mostly in Europe. The population in the commonly defined as European part of Turkey is approximately ten million inhabitants, which is larger than Sweden, Austria, or 14 out of the 27 present EU members. In addition, the EU already has a member state located entirely in Asia—Cyprus
Cyprus
Cyprus , officially the Republic of Cyprus , is a Eurasian island country, member of the European Union, in the Eastern Mediterranean, east of Greece, south of Turkey, west of Syria and north of Egypt. It is the third largest island in the Mediterranean Sea.The earliest known human activity on the...
to the south east of Anatolia
Anatolia
Anatolia is a geographic and historical term denoting the westernmost protrusion of Asia, comprising the majority of the Republic of Turkey...
and part of Anatolia's continental shelf.
Another concern is the Cyprus dispute
Cyprus dispute
The Cyprus dispute is the result of the ongoing conflict between the Republic of Cyprus and Turkey, over the Turkish occupied northern part of Cyprus....
. The northern third of the island of Cyprus is considered by the EU and most states in the world to be part of the Republic of Cyprus, an EU member state, but is de facto controlled by the government of Northern Cyprus, which is recognised by Turkey. Turkey, for its part, does not recognise the Republic of Cyprus pending a resolution to the dispute under the auspices of the United Nations, and has 40,000 troops stationed on territory controlled by the Northern Cypriot government. The UN-backed Annan Plan for the re-unification of Cyprus
Annan Plan for Cyprus
The Annan Plan was a United Nations proposal to resolve the Cyprus dispute, reuniting the breakaway Northern Cyprus with the Republic of Cyprus. The proposal was to restructure Cyprus as the "United Cyprus Republic", which would be a federation of two states. It was revised a number of times before...
was actively supported by the EU and Turkey. Separate referendums held in April 2004 produced different results on either side of the island: while accepted by the Turkish Cypriots
Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus
Northern Cyprus or North Cyprus , officially the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus , is a self-declared state that comprises the northeastern part of the island of Cyprus...
in the north, the plan was rejected by the Greek Cypriots in the south.
Applied but not recognised as official candidates
Albania has signed the SAA and applied for EU membership but is not yet recognised as an official candidate. Accession talks between Albania and the EU cannot begin until they are granted official candidate status.Albania
AlbaniaAlbania
Albania , officially known as the Republic of Albania , is a country in Southeastern Europe, in the Balkans region. It is bordered by Montenegro to the northwest, Kosovo to the northeast, the Republic of Macedonia to the east and Greece to the south and southeast. It has a coast on the Adriatic Sea...
applied for EU membership on 28 April 2009. Officially recognised by the EU as a "potential candidate country", Albania started negotiations on a Stabilisation and Association Agreement (SAA) in 2003. SAA was signed on 12 June 2006 and entered force on 1 April 2009, thus completing the first major step towards EU membership.
Following the same path of the recently admitted Central European and Mediterranean countries in 2004
2004 enlargement of the European Union
The 2004 enlargement of the European Union was the largest single expansion of the European Union , both in terms of territory, number of states and population, however not in terms of gross domestic product...
and 2007, Albania has been extensively engaged with EU institutions, and joined NATO as a full member in 2009. It has also maintained its position as a stability factor and a strong ally of European Union
European Union
The European Union is an economic and political union of 27 independent member states which are located primarily in Europe. The EU traces its origins from the European Coal and Steel Community and the European Economic Community , formed by six countries in 1958...
and USA in the troubled and divided region of the Balkans
Balkans
The Balkans is a geopolitical and cultural region of southeastern Europe...
.
After the application for EU membership was sent by the Albanian Government, on 16 November 2009 the Council of the European Union
Council of the European Union
The Council of the European Union is the institution in the legislature of the European Union representing the executives of member states, the other legislative body being the European Parliament. The Council is composed of twenty-seven national ministers...
asked the European Commission
European Commission
The European Commission is the executive body of the European Union. The body is responsible for proposing legislation, implementing decisions, upholding the Union's treaties and the general day-to-day running of the Union....
(EC) to prepare an assessment concerning the readiness of the Republic of Albania to start accession negotiations, a process lasting about a year usually. On 16 December 2009 the EC submitted the questionnaire on accessing preparation to the Albanian Government. Albania returned the questionnaire's answers to the EC on 14 April 2010. Candidacy status was not recognized by the EU along with Montenegro in December 2010, due to the long-lasting political row in the country. In December 2010, Albanian citizens were given the right by the European Union to travel without visas to the Schengen area.
Serbia
The government of Serbia has the goal for the EU accession in 2014 per Papandreou plan—Agenda 2014. Negotiations on a Stabilisation and Association AgreementEuropean Union Association Agreement
A European Union Association Agreement is a treaty between the European Union and a non-EU country that creates a framework for co-operation between them. Areas frequently covered by such agreements include the development of political, trade, social, cultural and security links...
started in November 2005.
On 29 April 2008, Serbian officials
Serbia
Serbia , officially the Republic of Serbia , is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central and Southeast Europe, covering the southern part of the Carpathian basin and the central part of the Balkans...
signed an SAA
Stabilisation and Association process
In talks with countries who have expressed a wish to join the European Union, the EU typically concludes Association Agreements in exchange for commitments to political, economic, trade, or human rights reform in that country...
with the EU, and the Serbian President sought official candidate status by the end of 2008. The Dutch government refused to ratify the agreement while Ratko Mladić
Ratko Mladić
Ratko Mladić is an accused war criminal and a former Bosnian Serb military leader. On May 31, 2011, Mladić was extradited to The Hague, where he was processed at the detention center that holds suspects for the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia...
was not captured. He was captured in Serbia on 26 May 2011, removing the main obstacle for obtaining candidate status. As of January 2009, the Serbian government has started to implement its obligations under the agreement unilaterally. The effects remain to be evaluated by the European Commission. Despite its setbacks in the political field, on 7 December 2009 the EU unfroze the trade agreement with Serbia. Serbian citizens gained visa-free travel to the Schengen zone on 19 December 2009, and Serbia officially applied for EU membership on 22 December 2009.
In November 2010, The Economist stated that "EU Foreign Ministers have agreed to pass Serbia's request for membership to the European Commission". The European Commission sent a legislative questionnaire of around 2500 questions and Serbia answered to on 31 January 2011. On 12 October 2011, the European Commission
European Commission
The European Commission is the executive body of the European Union. The body is responsible for proposing legislation, implementing decisions, upholding the Union's treaties and the general day-to-day running of the Union....
has recommended that Serbia be granted an official EU candidate status following its successful application for EU membership.
Potential candidates that have not yet applied for EU membership
The EU's relations with the Western Balkans states were moved from the "External RelationsDirectorate-General for External Relations (European Commission)
The Directorate-General for the External Relations was a Directorate-General of the European Commission, responsible for the external policy...
" 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
Stabilisation and Association process
In talks with countries who have expressed a wish to join the European Union, the EU typically concludes Association Agreements in exchange for commitments to political, economic, trade, or human rights reform in that country...
.
The 2003 European Council summit in Thessaloniki
Thessaloniki
Thessaloniki , historically also known as Thessalonica, Salonika or Salonica, is the second-largest city in Greece and the capital of the region of Central Macedonia as well as the capital of the Decentralized Administration of Macedonia and Thrace...
set integration of the Western Balkans
Balkans
The Balkans is a geopolitical and cultural region of southeastern Europe...
as a priority of EU expansion.
The successor states of the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia
Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia
The Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia was the Yugoslav state that existed from the abolition of the Yugoslav monarchy until it was dissolved in 1992 amid the Yugoslav Wars. It was a socialist state and a federation made up of six socialist republics: Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia,...
and of Albania
Albania
Albania , officially known as the Republic of Albania , is a country in Southeastern Europe, in the Balkans region. It is bordered by Montenegro to the northwest, Kosovo to the northeast, the Republic of Macedonia to the east and Greece to the south and southeast. It has a coast on the Adriatic Sea...
, have all adopted EU integration as an aim of foreign policy. Slovenia joined the EU on 1 May 2004. Croatia and Macedonia were then granted candidate status, and as of 2010 Albania, Montenegro and Serbia have already lodged in their membership applications and Montenegro has also gained candidate status.
Serbia and Albania are still regarded by the EU as potential candidates but have submitted candidacy for EU membership. That leaves only Bosnia and Herzegovina and Kosovo (UNSCR 1244) as potential candidates that have not yet applied for EU membership.
Bosnia and Herzegovina has SAA while Kosovo (UNSCR 1244) does not.
The EU signed an agreement with Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Macedonia, and Montenegro on 13 April 2007, and Serbia on 15 May 2007, which included visa facilitations for the citizens of these countries. The signing EU Commissioner
Commissioner
Commissioner is in principle the title given to a member of a commission or to an individual who has been given a commission ....
Franco Frattini was quoted saying that this is the first step towards full abolition of the visa requirements and the free movement of the Western Balkans citizens in EU. Citizens of Macedonia, Montenegro and Serbia have enjoyed visa-free travel to the EU since 19 December 2009, whereas citizens of Albania and Bosnia and Herzegovina gained it in December 2010. Only Kosovan citizens are still under EU visa regime.
On 9 November 2005, the European Commission
European Commission
The European Commission is the executive body of the European Union. The body is responsible for proposing legislation, implementing decisions, upholding the Union's treaties and the general day-to-day running of the Union....
suggested in a new strategy paper that the current enlargement agenda (Croatia, Turkey
Turkey
Turkey , known officially as the Republic of Turkey , is a Eurasian country located in Western Asia and in East Thrace in Southeastern Europe...
and the Western Balkans) could potentially block the possibility of a future accession of Armenia
Armenia
Armenia , officially the Republic of Armenia , is a landlocked mountainous country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia...
, Azerbaijan
Azerbaijan
Azerbaijan , officially the Republic of Azerbaijan is the largest country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia. Located at the crossroads of Western Asia and Eastern Europe, it is bounded by the Caspian Sea to the east, Russia to the north, Georgia to the northwest, Armenia to the west, and Iran to...
, Belarus
Belarus
Belarus , officially the Republic of Belarus, is a landlocked country in Eastern Europe, bordered clockwise by Russia to the northeast, Ukraine to the south, Poland to the west, and Lithuania and Latvia to the northwest. Its capital is Minsk; other major cities include Brest, Grodno , Gomel ,...
, Georgia
Georgia (country)
Georgia is a sovereign state in the Caucasus region of Eurasia. Located at the crossroads of Western Asia and Eastern Europe, it is bounded to the west by the Black Sea, to the north by Russia, to the southwest by Turkey, to the south by Armenia, and to the southeast by Azerbaijan. The capital of...
, Moldova
Moldova
Moldova , officially the Republic of Moldova is a landlocked state in Eastern Europe, located between Romania to the West and Ukraine to the North, East and South. It declared itself an independent state with the same boundaries as the preceding Moldavian Soviet Socialist Republic in 1991, as part...
, and Ukraine
Ukraine
Ukraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It has an area of 603,628 km², making it the second largest contiguous country on the European continent, after Russia...
. Olli Rehn
Olli Rehn
Olli Ilmari Rehn is a Finnish politician, currently serving as European Commissioner for Economic and Financial Affairs. He had previously served as Commissioner for Enlargement...
has said on occasion that the EU should "avoid overstretching our capacity, and instead consolidate our enlargement agenda," adding, "this is already a challenging agenda for our accession process."
Bosnia and Herzegovina
Bosnia and HerzegovinaBosnia and Herzegovina
Bosnia and Herzegovina , sometimes called Bosnia-Herzegovina or simply Bosnia, is a country in Southern Europe, on the Balkan Peninsula. Bordered by Croatia to the north, west and south, Serbia to the east, and Montenegro to the southeast, Bosnia and Herzegovina is almost landlocked, except for the...
still has many economic as well as political problems. Recently it has been making slow but steady progress, including co-operation with the war crimes tribunal
International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia
The International Tribunal for the Prosecution of Persons Responsible for Serious Violations of International Humanitarian Law Committed in the Territory of the Former Yugoslavia since 1991, more commonly referred to as the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia or ICTY, is a...
at The Hague
The Hague
The Hague is the capital city of the province of South Holland in the Netherlands. With a population of 500,000 inhabitants , it is the third largest city of the Netherlands, after Amsterdam and Rotterdam...
.
Negotiations on a Stabilisation and Association Agreement started during the year 2005 and concluded December 2007. This is the first step before making an application for candidate status and membership negotiations. The negotiations were expected to be finalised in late 2007, but due to the failure of the government to decide in time on police reform in line with EU principles they could be finalised in late 2008 at the earliest. Due to this setback and the hard-line positions of most Bosnian politicians, High Representative
High Representative for Bosnia and Herzegovina
The High Representative for Bosnia and Herzegovina, with the Office of the High Representative in Bosnia and Herzegovina, was created in 1995 immediately after the Dayton Peace Agreement to oversee the civilian implementation of this agreement. The High Representative and the OHR represent the...
Miroslav Lajčák
Miroslav Lajcák
Dr. Miroslav Lajčák is a Slovak diplomat.Lajčák is a law graduate from the Comenius University in Bratislava. He holds a Ph.D. in international relations from the State Institute of International Relations in Moscow and is also a graduate of the George C...
has stated that he will shift more of his focus for the time being from EU accession to reforms which would improve the standard of living in the country.
The Union may show some leniency over economic requirements due to the political issues at stake. Former President of the European Commission Romano Prodi
Romano Prodi
Romano Prodi is an Italian politician and statesman. He served as the Prime Minister of Italy, from 17 May 1996 to 21 October 1998 and from 17 May 2006 to 8 May 2008...
has stated that Bosnia and Herzegovina has a chance of joining the EU soon after Croatia
Croatia
Croatia , officially the Republic of Croatia , is a unitary democratic parliamentary republic in Europe at the crossroads of the Mitteleuropa, the Balkans, and the Mediterranean. Its capital and largest city is Zagreb. The country is divided into 20 counties and the city of Zagreb. Croatia covers ...
, but it is entirely dependent on the country's progress.
The SAA was initialed on Tuesday, 4 December 2007 by Enlargement Commissioner Olli Rehn
Olli Rehn
Olli Ilmari Rehn is a Finnish politician, currently serving as European Commissioner for Economic and Financial Affairs. He had previously served as Commissioner for Enlargement...
and caretaker Prime Minister Nikola Špirić
Nikola Špiric
Dr. Nikola Špirić born September 4, 1956 in Drvar, Bosnia and Herzegovina, then Yugoslavia) is a Bosnian Serb politician and is the Chairman of the Council of Ministers of Bosnia and Herzegovina elected on 4 January 2007....
. The initialing came in the wake of successful negotiations by Miroslav Lajčák
Miroslav Lajcák
Dr. Miroslav Lajčák is a Slovak diplomat.Lajčák is a law graduate from the Comenius University in Bratislava. He holds a Ph.D. in international relations from the State Institute of International Relations in Moscow and is also a graduate of the George C...
in regards to passing his new quorum rules laws and also the commitment of Bosnian and Herzegovinian politicians to implementing police reform. The SAA
Stabilisation and Association process
In talks with countries who have expressed a wish to join the European Union, the EU typically concludes Association Agreements in exchange for commitments to political, economic, trade, or human rights reform in that country...
was signed on 16 June 2008.
According to the Foreign Minister Sven Alkalaj
Sven Alkalaj
Sven Alkalaj is a Bosnian diplomat who is the Foreign Minister of Bosnia and Herzegovina. Alkalaj, who is of Sephardic ethnicity, is one of the most prominent Bosnian Jews...
, Bosnia and Herzegovina planned to submit an application for membership between April and June 2009. However, an application was ultimately not submitted in this time frame. In February 2010, Alkalaj stated that Bosnia now planned to submit their membership application by the end of the year. Again, no application was actually filed.
Kosovo (UNSCR 1244)
2008 Kosovo declaration of independence
The 2008 Kosovo declaration of independence was adopted on 17 February 2008 by individual members of the Assembly of Kosovo acting in personal capacity and not binding to the Assembly itself...
. The European Commission noted in its annual report for the progress of the countries candidates and potential candidates for EU accession, that Kosovo faces major challenges, including ensuring the rule of law, the fight against corruption and organised crime, the strengthening of administrative capacity, and the protection of the Serb and other minorities.
As confirmed by the Thessaloniki Summit in June 2003, Kosovo
Kosovo
Kosovo is a region in southeastern Europe. Part of the Ottoman Empire for more than five centuries, later the Autonomous Province of Kosovo and Metohija within Serbia...
is firmly anchored in the framework of the Stabilisation and Association Process
Stabilisation and Association process
In talks with countries who have expressed a wish to join the European Union, the EU typically concludes Association Agreements in exchange for commitments to political, economic, trade, or human rights reform in that country...
, the EU policy which applies to the Western Balkans.
On 20 April 2005 the European Commission adopted the Communication on Kosovo
Kosovo
Kosovo is a region in southeastern Europe. Part of the Ottoman Empire for more than five centuries, later the Autonomous Province of Kosovo and Metohija within Serbia...
to the Council "A European Future for Kosovo" which reinforces the Commission’s commitment to Kosovo
Kosovo
Kosovo is a region in southeastern Europe. Part of the Ottoman Empire for more than five centuries, later the Autonomous Province of Kosovo and Metohija within Serbia...
. Furthermore, on 20 January 2006, the Council adopted a European Partnership for Serbia and Montenegro
Serbia and Montenegro
Serbia and Montenegro was a country in southeastern Europe, formed from two former republics of the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia : Serbia and Montenegro. Following the breakup of Yugoslavia, it was established in 1992 as a federation called the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia...
including Kosovo
Kosovo
Kosovo is a region in southeastern Europe. Part of the Ottoman Empire for more than five centuries, later the Autonomous Province of Kosovo and Metohija within Serbia...
as defined by UNSCR1244. The European Partnership is a means to materialise the European perspective of the Western Balkan countries within the framework of the stabilisation and association process.
The Provisional Institutions of Self Government (PISG) adopted an Action Plan for the Implementation of the European Partnership in August 2006 and this document forms the current working basis between the EU and the PISG. The PISG regularly report on the implementation of this action plan. Twelve meetings of the so-called "Stabilisation Tracking Mechanism
Stabilisation Tracking Mechanism
Stabilisation Tracking Mechanism is the mirror instrument of the Stabilisation and Association Process for Kosovo. Kosovo, a disputed province of Serbia under international administration that has recently unilaterally declared independence and received partial recognition, still not having a...
" (STM), specially devised to promote policy dialogue between the EU and the Kosovan authorities on EU approximation matters have taken place so far. In addition, a new structure of sectoral meetings under the umbrella of the STM was established in the areas of good governance, economy, internal market, innovation and infrastructure in March 2007.
Kosovo's politicians announced that they expect Kosovo to join the EU in 2015.
Progress
It was previously the norm for enlargements to see multiple entrants join the Union at once. The only previous enlargement of a single state was the 1981 admission of Greece.However, the EU members have warned that, following the significant impact of the fifth enlargement in 2004, a more individual approach will be adopted in the future, although the entry of pairs or small groups of countries will most probably coincide.
States not on the agenda
EFTA states
Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway and Switzerland are members of a free trade area (EFTA) developed in parallel to the EU. Most prior members of EFTA left to join the EU and the remaining countries, except Switzerland, formed the European Economic AreaEuropean Economic Area
The European Economic Area was established on 1 January 1994 following an agreement between the member states of the European Free Trade Association and the European Community, later the European Union . Specifically, it allows Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway to participate in the EU's Internal...
with the EU. Of the current member states only Iceland (see section above) has current aspirations to join the EU.
Liechtenstein
LiechtensteinLiechtenstein
The Principality of Liechtenstein is a doubly landlocked alpine country in Central Europe, bordered by Switzerland to the west and south and by Austria to the east. Its area is just over , and it has an estimated population of 35,000. Its capital is Vaduz. The biggest town is Schaan...
is, like Norway and Iceland, a member of the European Economic Area
European Economic Area
The European Economic Area was established on 1 January 1994 following an agreement between the member states of the European Free Trade Association and the European Community, later the European Union . Specifically, it allows Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway to participate in the EU's Internal...
and hence is already heavily integrated with the EU. Although it currently has no intention of joining, it might consider joining the EU if Switzerland joins, as it is doing with the Schengen Agreement
Schengen Agreement
The Schengen Agreement is a treaty signed on 14 June 1985 near the town of Schengen in Luxembourg, between five of the ten member states of the European Economic Community. It was supplemented by the Convention implementing the Schengen Agreement 5 years later...
. If it attained membership it would become the smallest member state (the current smallest is Malta
Malta
Malta , officially known as the Republic of Malta , is a Southern European country consisting of an archipelago situated in the centre of the Mediterranean, south of Sicily, east of Tunisia and north of Libya, with Gibraltar to the west and Alexandria to the east.Malta covers just over in...
).
One concern is that unlike the constitutional monarchies within the EU (such as the United Kingdom, Sweden, Denmark, The Netherlands, Belgium, or Spain), the Prince of Liechtenstein exercises considerable executive powers, and is not merely a figurehead. These powers would have to be rescinded in order for Liechtenstein to be fully democratic, which is a condition for admission to the EU.
Norway
NorwayNorway
Norway , officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic unitary constitutional monarchy whose territory comprises the western portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula, Jan Mayen, and the Arctic archipelago of Svalbard and Bouvet Island. Norway has a total area of and a population of about 4.9 million...
is not an EU member state, but adopts some EU legislation as a result of its participation in the European Economic Area
European Economic Area
The European Economic Area was established on 1 January 1994 following an agreement between the member states of the European Free Trade Association and the European Community, later the European Union . Specifically, it allows Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway to participate in the EU's Internal...
(EEA) through the European Free Trade Association
European Free Trade Association
The European Free Trade Association or EFTA is a free trade organisation between four European countries that operates parallel to, and is linked to, the European Union . EFTA was established on 3 May 1960 as a trade bloc-alternative for European states who were either unable to, or chose not to,...
(EFTA). Additionally, Norway has chosen to opt into some of the Union's programmes, institutions and activities. Whether or not the country should apply for full membership has been a dominant and divisive issue. Division within the current Red-Green Coalition
Red-Green Coalition (Norway)
The Red-Green Coalition is a centre-left coalition of Norwegian parties, formed by the Labour , the Socialist Left Party , and the Centre Party. Unlike many other Red-Green coalitions, the "Green" here is the colour of a centrist party rather than an actual Green party...
has blocked the issue since the 2005 parliamentary elections
Norwegian parliamentary election, 2005
Parliamentary elections were held in Norway on 12 September 2005. More than 3.4 million Norwegians were eligible for vote for the Storting, the parliament of Norway. The new Storting has 169 members, an increase of four over the 2001 election....
. Norway has applied four times for EEC and EU membership. In 1962 and 1967 France vetoed Norway's entry, while the later 1972 referendum
Norwegian EC referendum, 1972
A referendum on whether Norway should join the European Community was held on 25 September 1972. After a long period of heated debate, the "No" side won with 53.5 per cent of the vote. Prime Minister Trygve Bratteli resigned as a result of the defeat...
and the 1994 referendum
Norwegian EU referendum, 1994
A referendum on whether Norway should join the European Union was held on 28 November 1994. After a long period of heated debate, the "No" side won with 52.2 per cent of the vote, on a turnout of 88.6 per cent...
were both lost by the government.
Norway's application for EU membership has been frozen but not withdrawn. It could be resumed at any time following renewed domestic political will, as happened in the case of Malta
Malta
Malta , officially known as the Republic of Malta , is a Southern European country consisting of an archipelago situated in the centre of the Mediterranean, south of Sicily, east of Tunisia and north of Libya, with Gibraltar to the west and Alexandria to the east.Malta covers just over in...
.
A large issue for Norway is its fishing resources, which are a significant part of the national economy
Economy of Norway
The economy of Norway is a developed mixed economy with heavy state-ownership in strategic areas of the economy. Although sensitive to global business cycles, the economy of Norway has shown robust growth since the start of the industrial era...
and which would come under the Common Fisheries Policy
Common Fisheries Policy
The Common Fisheries Policy is the fisheries policy of the European Union . It sets quotas for which member states are allowed to catch what amounts of each type of fish, as well as encouraging the fishing industry by various market interventions...
if Norway were to accede to the EU.
Norway has high GNP
GNP
Gross National Product is the market value of all products and services produced in one year by labor and property supplied by the residents of a country...
per capita, and would have to pay a high membership fee. The country has a limited amount of agriculture, and few underdeveloped areas, which means that Norway would receive little economic support from the EU. However, as of 2009, Norway has chosen to opt into many EU projects and since its total financial contribution linked to the EEA agreement consists of contributions related to the participation in these projects, and a part made available to development projects for reducing social and economic disparities in the EU (EEA and Norway Grants
EEA and Norway Grants
The EEA Grants and Norway Grants are the financial contributions of Norway, Iceland and Liechtenstein towards the reduction of economic and social disparities in the European Economic Area and to strengthen bilateral relations with 15 EU and EEA Member States in Central and Southern Europe.-...
), its participation is on an equal footing with that of EU member states. The total EEA EFTA commitment amounts to 2.4% of the overall EU programme budget.
Norway is a member of the European Economic Area
European Economic Area
The European Economic Area was established on 1 January 1994 following an agreement between the member states of the European Free Trade Association and the European Community, later the European Union . Specifically, it allows Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway to participate in the EU's Internal...
(the EU common market), the Schengen treaty (and was an associate member of the Western European Union
Western European Union
The Western European Union was an international organisation tasked with implementing the Modified Treaty of Brussels , an amended version of the original 1948 Treaty of Brussels...
until the organization terminated in 2011), as well as other treaties and agreements normally considered as under the EU umbrella. Norway was a founding member of NATO in 1949.
Switzerland
SwitzerlandSwitzerland
Switzerland name of one of the Swiss cantons. ; ; ; or ), in its full name the Swiss Confederation , is a federal republic consisting of 26 cantons, with Bern as the seat of the federal authorities. The country is situated in Western Europe,Or Central Europe depending on the definition....
took part in negotiating the EEA
European Economic Area
The European Economic Area was established on 1 January 1994 following an agreement between the member states of the European Free Trade Association and the European Community, later the European Union . Specifically, it allows Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway to participate in the EU's Internal...
agreement with the EU and signed the agreement on 2 May 1992 and submitted an application for accession to the EU on 20 May 1992. A Swiss referendum held on 6 December 1992 rejected EEA membership. As a consequence, the Swiss Government decided to suspend negotiations for EU accession until further notice, but its application remains open. The popular initiative entitled "Yes to Europe!", calling for the opening of immediate negotiations for EU membership, was rejected in a 4 March 2001 referendum. The Swiss Federal Council, which is in favour of EU membership, had advised the population to vote against this referendum since the preconditions for the opening of negotiations had not been met. It is thought that the fear of a loss of neutrality
Neutral country
A neutral power in a particular war is a sovereign state which declares itself to be neutral towards the belligerents. A non-belligerent state does not need to be neutral. The rights and duties of a neutral power are defined in Sections 5 and 13 of the Hague Convention of 1907...
and independence is the key issue against membership among eurosceptics
Euroscepticism
Euroscepticism is a general term used to describe criticism of the European Union , and opposition to the process of European integration, existing throughout the political spectrum. Traditionally, the main source of euroscepticism has been the notion that integration weakens the nation state...
. Switzerland has relatively little amount of land area with agriculture, to which a large part of the EU budget goes.
EU membership continued to be the objective of the government and is a "long-term aim" of the Federal Council. Furthermore, the Swiss population agreed to their country's participation in the Schengen Agreement
Schengen Agreement
The Schengen Agreement is a treaty signed on 14 June 1985 near the town of Schengen in Luxembourg, between five of the ten member states of the European Economic Community. It was supplemented by the Convention implementing the Schengen Agreement 5 years later...
. As a result of that, Switzerland joined the area in December 2008.
The Swiss federal government policy has recently undergone substantial U-turns in policy, however, concerning specific agreements with the EU on freedom of movement for people, workers and areas concerning tax evasion
Tax evasion
Tax evasion is the general term for efforts by individuals, corporations, trusts and other entities to evade taxes by illegal means. Tax evasion usually entails taxpayers deliberately misrepresenting or concealing the true state of their affairs to the tax authorities to reduce their tax liability,...
have been addressed within the Swiss banking system. This was a result of the first Switzerland–EU summit in May 2004 where nine bilateral agreements were signed. Romano Prodi
Romano Prodi
Romano Prodi is an Italian politician and statesman. He served as the Prime Minister of Italy, from 17 May 1996 to 21 October 1998 and from 17 May 2006 to 8 May 2008...
, former President of the European Commission, said the agreements "moved Switzerland closer to Europe." Joseph Deiss
Joseph Deiss
Joseph Deiss is an economist, Swiss politician and a member of the Christian Democratic People's Party . From 1999 to 2006, he was a member of the Swiss Federal Council, heading first the Federal Department of Foreign Affairs and then the Federal Department of Economic Affairs...
of the Swiss Federal Council
Swiss Federal Council
The Federal Council is the seven-member executive council which constitutes the federal government of Switzerland and serves as the Swiss collective head of state....
said, "We might not be at the very centre of Europe but we're definitely at the heart of Europe". He continued, "We're beginning a new era of relations between our two entities."
The Swiss government declared in September 2009 that bilateral treaties are not solutions and the membership debate has to be checked again.
Non-EFTA microstates
Within western Europe, there are five microstatesEuropean microstates
The European microstates or ministates are a set of very small states in Europe. While Andorra, Liechtenstein, Malta, Monaco, San Marino, and Vatican City are usually included, Luxembourg and Cyprus share certain features as well...
: Andorra
Andorra
Andorra , officially the Principality of Andorra , also called the Principality of the Valleys of Andorra, , is a small landlocked country in southwestern Europe, located in the eastern Pyrenees mountains and bordered by Spain and France. It is the sixth smallest nation in Europe having an area of...
, Monaco
Monaco
Monaco , officially the Principality of Monaco , is a sovereign city state on the French Riviera. It is bordered on three sides by its neighbour, France, and its centre is about from Italy. Its area is with a population of 35,986 as of 2011 and is the most densely populated country in the...
, San Marino
San Marino
San Marino, officially the Republic of San Marino , is a state situated on the Italian Peninsula on the eastern side of the Apennine Mountains. It is an enclave surrounded by Italy. Its size is just over with an estimated population of over 30,000. Its capital is the City of San Marino...
, the Vatican City
Vatican City
Vatican City , or Vatican City State, in Italian officially Stato della Città del Vaticano , which translates literally as State of the City of the Vatican, is a landlocked sovereign city-state whose territory consists of a walled enclave within the city of Rome, Italy. It has an area of...
, and Liechtenstein
Liechtenstein
The Principality of Liechtenstein is a doubly landlocked alpine country in Central Europe, bordered by Switzerland to the west and south and by Austria to the east. Its area is just over , and it has an estimated population of 35,000. Its capital is Vaduz. The biggest town is Schaan...
. The last of these is a member of EFTA (see section EFTA states for its details). Monaco, San Marino and the Vatican City have all signed agreements allowing them not only to use the euro, but to mint their own coins
Euro coins
There are eight euro coin denominations, ranging from one cent to two euros . The coins first came into use in 2002. They have a common reverse, portraying a map of Europe, but each country in the eurozone has its own design on the obverse, which means that each coin has a variety of different...
. They all also are de facto part of the Schengen agreement
Schengen Agreement
The Schengen Agreement is a treaty signed on 14 June 1985 near the town of Schengen in Luxembourg, between five of the ten member states of the European Economic Community. It was supplemented by the Convention implementing the Schengen Agreement 5 years later...
or have a largely open border with the EU and have close relations with their neighbouring state, for example Monaco is a full part of the EU's customs
Customs
Customs is an authority or agency in a country responsible for collecting and safeguarding customs duties and for controlling the flow of goods including animals, transports, personal effects and hazardous items in and out of a country...
territory via France, and applies most EU measures relating to VAT
Value added tax
A value added tax or value-added tax is a form of consumption tax. From the perspective of the buyer, it is a tax on the purchase price. From that of the seller, it is a tax only on the "value added" to a product, material or service, from an accounting point of view, by this stage of its...
and excise duties.
Close cooperation and inclusion in systems like the Eurozone
Eurozone
The eurozone , officially called the euro area, is an economic and monetary union of seventeen European Union member states that have adopted the euro as their common currency and sole legal tender...
are offered to them. This does not come without conditions. The EU requires cooperation in e.g. tax control in return. Monaco has already implemented the EU Directive on the taxation of savings interest.
Andorra
In Andorra (the largest European microstate), the government has said that "for the time being" there is no need to join the EU; however, the opposition Social Democratic PartySocial Democratic Party (Andorra)
The Social Democratic Party is a social democratic political party in Andorra.In the April 24 2005 legislative elections, the party came second in the elections, with 38.1 % of the popular vote and 11 out of 28 seats. It remained in opposition to the government of the Liberal Party of Andorra...
is in favour.
Monaco
Monaco joined the Council of EuropeCouncil of Europe
The Council of Europe is an international organisation promoting co-operation between all countries of Europe in the areas of legal standards, human rights, democratic development, the rule of law and cultural co-operation...
in 2004, a move that required it to renegotiate its relations with France, which previously had the right to nominate various ministers. This was seen as part of a general move toward Europe. One concern is that, unlike the constitutional monarchies within the EU, the Prince of Monaco
Prince of Monaco
The Reigning Prince or Princess of Monaco is the sovereign monarch and head of state of the Principality of Monaco. All Princes or Princesses thus far have taken the name of the House of Grimaldi, but have belonged to various other houses in male line...
has considerable executive powers and is not merely a figurehead.
San Marino
In San Marino the centrist Popular Alliance has been reported to be in favour of joining the EU, which the ruling Sammarinese Christian Democratic Party opposed in 2006. In 2010 the Parliament tasked the government to open negotiations for further integration with the European Union, and subsequently a technical group prepared a report on the topic including the options of EU and EEA membership. A planned referendum on EU membership for 27 March 2011 was cancelled by the government.Vatican City
The Vatican CityVatican City
Vatican City , or Vatican City State, in Italian officially Stato della Città del Vaticano , which translates literally as State of the City of the Vatican, is a landlocked sovereign city-state whose territory consists of a walled enclave within the city of Rome, Italy. It has an area of...
(the smallest state in the world) as a theocracy
Theocracy
Theocracy is a form of organization in which the official policy is to be governed by immediate divine guidance or by officials who are regarded as divinely guided, or simply pursuant to the doctrine of a particular religious sect or religion....
does not have the democratic credentials to join the EU and is unlikely to attain them given its unique status. Additionally its economy is also of unique non-commercial nature and thus EU membership is not discussed, even though it is in the heart of an EU member state.
Eastern Partnership states
Since the dissolution of the Soviet UnionSoviet Union
The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....
, the former Soviet republics of South-east, Eastern Europe and the South Caucasus
South Caucasus
The South Caucasus is a geopolitical region located on the border of Eastern Europe and Southwest Asia also referred to as Transcaucasia, or The Trans-Caucasus...
have been looked upon as potential candidates for EU enlargement. Majority of them are or have been closely linked to Russia
Russia
Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
and would need to concentrate more on other European partners to attain candidate status. It is expected that these states remain outside the Union for at least a significant amount of time, because they are not currently on any enlargement agenda (in contrast to the Western Balkan states, Turkey, and Iceland).
However, a summit in Mamaia
Mamaia
Mamaia is a resort on the Romanian Black Sea shore, considered to be Romania's most popular resort. It is situated immediately north-east of Constanţa...
, Eastern Romania, in May 2004 showed enlargement to be a definite possibility, though only Ukraine
Ukraine
Ukraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It has an area of 603,628 km², making it the second largest contiguous country on the European continent, after Russia...
and Moldova
Moldova
Moldova , officially the Republic of Moldova is a landlocked state in Eastern Europe, located between Romania to the West and Ukraine to the North, East and South. It declared itself an independent state with the same boundaries as the preceding Moldavian Soviet Socialist Republic in 1991, as part...
were present, as Belarus
Belarus
Belarus , officially the Republic of Belarus, is a landlocked country in Eastern Europe, bordered clockwise by Russia to the northeast, Ukraine to the south, Poland to the west, and Lithuania and Latvia to the northwest. Its capital is Minsk; other major cities include Brest, Grodno , Gomel ,...
was not concerned with membership.
The South Caucasus states of Armenia
Armenia
Armenia , officially the Republic of Armenia , is a landlocked mountainous country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia...
, Azerbaijan
Azerbaijan
Azerbaijan , officially the Republic of Azerbaijan is the largest country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia. Located at the crossroads of Western Asia and Eastern Europe, it is bounded by the Caspian Sea to the east, Russia to the north, Georgia to the northwest, Armenia to the west, and Iran to...
, and Georgia
Georgia (country)
Georgia is a sovereign state in the Caucasus region of Eurasia. Located at the crossroads of Western Asia and Eastern Europe, it is bounded to the west by the Black Sea, to the north by Russia, to the southwest by Turkey, to the south by Armenia, and to the southeast by Azerbaijan. The capital of...
have been the site of much instability since the 1990s. Their EU membership would be conditional on the political assessment by the European Council
European Council
The European Council is an institution of the European Union. It comprises the heads of state or government of the EU member states, along with the President of the European Commission and the President of the European Council, currently Herman Van Rompuy...
about whether or not they are considered European. Nevertheless, all three states are admitted as full members into the Council of Europe
Council of Europe
The Council of Europe is an international organisation promoting co-operation between all countries of Europe in the areas of legal standards, human rights, democratic development, the rule of law and cultural co-operation...
(like Cyprus
Cyprus
Cyprus , officially the Republic of Cyprus , is a Eurasian island country, member of the European Union, in the Eastern Mediterranean, east of Greece, south of Turkey, west of Syria and north of Egypt. It is the third largest island in the Mediterranean Sea.The earliest known human activity on the...
) after a similar assessment process. Before the first official visit of external relations commissioner
European Commissioner for External Relations and European Neighbourhood Policy
The European Commissioner for External Relations was a member of the European Commission with responsibility over the Commissions external representation in the world and the European Union's Neighbourhood Policy...
Benita Ferrero-Waldner
Benita Ferrero-Waldner
Dr. Benita Ferrero-Waldner is an Austrian diplomat and politician, and a member of the conservative Austrian People's Party . Ferrero-Waldner served as the Foreign Minister of Austria 2000–2004 and was the candidate of the Austrian People's Party in the Austrian presidential election, 2004, which...
to the three Caucasus states, it was stated that if she were asked about enlargement, she would not rule it out. It is unclear as to when they may move towards membership, even though they are part of the European Neighbourhood Policy
European Neighbourhood Policy
The European Neighbourhood Policy is a foreign relations instrument of the European Union which seeks to tie those countries to the east and south of the EU into the EU...
and are often referred to as part of "a wider Europe". Since their only land contact with European states is through Russia and Turkey, it is possible that they would only join after Turkey did so first. However, on 12 January 2002, the European Parliament
European Parliament
The European Parliament is the directly elected parliamentary institution of the European Union . Together with the Council of the European Union and the Commission, it exercises the legislative function of the EU and it has been described as one of the most powerful legislatures in the world...
noted that Armenia and Georgia may enter the EU in the future regardless.
The ENP Action Plans adopted by the EU and each individual partner state (Ukraine, Moldova, Georgia, Armenia, Azerbaijan) states that "the EU takes note of expressed European aspirations by the ENP partner".
In May 2008, Poland and Sweden put forward a joint proposal for an "Eastern Partnership
Eastern Partnership
The Eastern Partnership is a project which was initiated by the European Union . It was presented by the foreign minister of Poland with assistance from Sweden at a the EU's General Affairs and External Relations Council in Brussels on 26 May 2008...
" with Ukraine, Moldova, Armenia, Azerbaijan, and Georgia, with Russia and Belarus participating in some aspects. Eventually, Belarus joined the initiative as full member, while Russia does not participate at all. The Polish foreign minister Radoslaw Sikorski
Radoslaw Sikorski
Radosław Tomasz Sikorski , is a Polish politician and journalist. He served as Deputy Minister of National Defense in Jan Olszewski's Cabinet and Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs in Jerzy Buzek's Cabinet. He was also Minister of National Defense in Jarosław Kaczyński's Cabinet...
said "We all know the EU has enlargement fatigue. We have to use this time to prepare as much as possible so that when the fatigue passes, membership becomes something natural" In May 2009, the Eastern Partnership was inaugurated. Its members include the European Union as well as the post-Soviet states
Post-Soviet states
The post-Soviet states, also commonly known as the Former Soviet Union or former Soviet republics, are the 15 independent states that split off from the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics in its dissolution in December 1991...
Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Georgia, Moldova, and Ukraine.
With the inauguration of the second Barroso Commission in February 2010, the European Neighbourhood Policy
European Neighbourhood Policy
The European Neighbourhood Policy is a foreign relations instrument of the European Union which seeks to tie those countries to the east and south of the EU into the EU...
was transferred from the portfolio of the External Relations Commissioner
European Commissioner for External Relations and European Neighbourhood Policy
The European Commissioner for External Relations was a member of the European Commission with responsibility over the Commissions external representation in the world and the European Union's Neighbourhood Policy...
(replaced by the High Representative
High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy
The High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy is the main co-ordinator and representative of the Common Foreign and Security Policy within the European Union...
) to the Enlargement Commissioner.
A Polish-Swedish authored EU strategy sees the Eastern section of the Neighbourhood policy being split off and combined with the Eastern Partnership. These states would be offered full integration short of membership, but no enlargement would be on the agenda in the short to medium term.
Armenia
ArmeniaArmenia
Armenia , officially the Republic of Armenia , is a landlocked mountainous country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia...
is geographically located entirely within Western Asia. However, like Cyprus
Cyprus
Cyprus , officially the Republic of Cyprus , is a Eurasian island country, member of the European Union, in the Eastern Mediterranean, east of Greece, south of Turkey, west of Syria and north of Egypt. It is the third largest island in the Mediterranean Sea.The earliest known human activity on the...
, it has traditionally been regarded as culturally associated with Europe because of its long historical connections with European society, including a large diaspora
Armenian diaspora
The Armenian diaspora refers to the Armenian communities outside the Republic of Armenia and self proclaimed de facto independent Nagorno-Karabakh Republic...
and a historically Christian population.
Several Armenia
Armenia
Armenia , officially the Republic of Armenia , is a landlocked mountainous country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia...
n officials have expressed the desire for their country to eventually become an EU member state, some predicting that it will make an official bid for membership in a few years. Public opinion in Armenia suggests the move for membership would be welcomed, with 64% out of a sample of 2,000 being in favour and only 11.8% being against.
Armenia is still in conflict over the status of Nagorno-Karabakh
Nagorno-Karabakh
Nagorno-Karabakh is a landlocked region in the South Caucasus, lying between Lower Karabakh and Zangezur and covering the southeastern range of the Lesser Caucasus mountains...
(Artsakh) with neighbouring Azerbaijan
Azerbaijan
Azerbaijan , officially the Republic of Azerbaijan is the largest country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia. Located at the crossroads of Western Asia and Eastern Europe, it is bounded by the Caspian Sea to the east, Russia to the north, Georgia to the northwest, Armenia to the west, and Iran to...
. Since 1994, a ceasefire has been in place, but tensions remain very high between the two countries. Although the country's economy had one of the world's fastest growth rates in the past few years,
this comes following a low base and many years of near-continuous recession. Still, Armenia, being ranked 28th, is ahead of a number of EU member nations such as Austria, France, Portugal and Italy in the 2008 Index of Economic Freedom
Index of Economic Freedom
The Index of Economic Freedom is a series of 10 economic measurements created by The Heritage Foundation and The Wall Street Journal. Its stated objective is to measure the degree of economic freedom in the world's nations....
.
The Metsamor nuclear power plant
Metsamor Nuclear Power Plant
The Metsamor Nuclear Power Plant , also known as Oktemberyan or Medzamor, was built during the 1970s, about thirty kilometres west of the Armenian capital of Yerevan in the city of Metsamor. The plant was constructed with two VVER-440 Model V230 nuclear reactors...
, which is situated some 40 km west of Yerevan, is built on top of an active seismic zone and is a matter of negotiation between Armenia and the EU. Towards the end of 2007, Armenia approved a plan to shut down the Metsamor plant in compliance with the New European Neighbourhood Policy Action Plan. This is likely to take place by 2016 when the operating term of the Metsamor facility expires.
Azerbaijan
AzerbaijanAzerbaijan
Azerbaijan , officially the Republic of Azerbaijan is the largest country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia. Located at the crossroads of Western Asia and Eastern Europe, it is bounded by the Caspian Sea to the east, Russia to the north, Georgia to the northwest, Armenia to the west, and Iran to...
, a majority-Shia Muslim but secular country with a Turkic
Turkic peoples
The Turkic peoples are peoples residing in northern, central and western Asia, southern Siberia and northwestern China and parts of eastern Europe. They speak languages belonging to the Turkic language family. They share, to varying degrees, certain cultural traits and historical backgrounds...
population, would need to overcome several obstacles in order to be considered a potential EU candidate. The oil-rich country has made improvements to its infrastructure, but much of the money from its very high GDP growth, one of the world's fastest, still does not seem to find its way into the lower echelons of society, despite being larger and more technologically modernised than its neighbours Georgia and Armenia. Its economy is also suffering from the "Dutch disease
Dutch disease
In economics, the Dutch disease is a concept that purportedly explains the apparent relationship between the increase in exploitation of natural resources and a decline in the manufacturing sector...
," as oil is becoming its primary export, rendering the manufacturing sector less competitive. Corruption is another serious issue and recent presidential elections in Azerbaijan were disputed by the opposition and have been criticised for not being free, fair or democratic by international observers. The country also needs to resolve the conflict over Nagorno-Karabakh
Nagorno-Karabakh
Nagorno-Karabakh is a landlocked region in the South Caucasus, lying between Lower Karabakh and Zangezur and covering the southeastern range of the Lesser Caucasus mountains...
with neighbouring Armenia, as the EU wishes to ease tensions in the area.
Belarus
The EU's relations with BelarusBelarus
Belarus , officially the Republic of Belarus, is a landlocked country in Eastern Europe, bordered clockwise by Russia to the northeast, Ukraine to the south, Poland to the west, and Lithuania and Latvia to the northwest. Its capital is Minsk; other major cities include Brest, Grodno , Gomel ,...
are strained as the EU has condemned the government of Belarus several times for authoritarian and anti-democratic practices, and even imposed sanctions on the country. Under its current president, Belarus has instead sought a close confederation with Russia
Union of Russia and Belarus
The Union State , semi-officially known as Union State of Russia and Belarus , is a supranational entity consisting of the Russian Federation and the Republic of Belarus.- Creation :...
, short of political reunion
Political union
A political union is a type of state which is composed of or created out of smaller states. Unlike a personal union, the individual states share a common government and the union is recognized internationally as a single political entity...
.
According to the initial ENP
European Neighbourhood Policy
The European Neighbourhood Policy is a foreign relations instrument of the European Union which seeks to tie those countries to the east and south of the EU into the EU...
plan in 2004 Belarus is considered a potential participant, but not yet ready. Because of warming moves by both sides, Belarus became a member of the Eastern Partnership
Eastern Partnership
The Eastern Partnership is a project which was initiated by the European Union . It was presented by the foreign minister of Poland with assistance from Sweden at a the EU's General Affairs and External Relations Council in Brussels on 26 May 2008...
in 2009 despite its non-participation in the ENP.
Georgia
Georgia's current President Mikheil SaakashviliMikheil Saakashvili
Mikheil Saakashvili is a Georgian politician, the third and current President of Georgia and leader of the United National Movement Party.Involved in the national politics since 1995, Saakashvili became president on 25 January 2004 after President Eduard Shevardnadze resigned in a November 2003...
has expressed a desire for Georgia to join the EU. This view has been explicitly expressed on several occasions as links to the United States, EU and NATO have been strengthened in an attempt to move away from the Russian sphere of influence. Territorial integrity issues in Ajaria were dealt with after the Rose Revolution
Rose Revolution
The "Revolution of Roses" was a change of power in Georgia in November 2003, which took place after having widespread protests over the disputed parliamentary elections...
, when leader Aslan Abashidze
Aslan Abashidze
Aslan Abashidze was the leader of the Ajarian Autonomous Republic in western Georgia from 1991 to May 5, 2004. He resigned under the pressure of the central Georgian government and mass opposition rallies during the 2004 Adjara crisis, and has since lived in Moscow, Russia...
was forced to resign in May 2004. However, unresolved territorial integrity issues have again risen to the forefront in South Ossetia
South Ossetia
South Ossetia or Tskhinvali Region is a disputed region and partly recognized state in the South Caucasus, located in the territory of the South Ossetian Autonomous Oblast within the former Georgian Soviet Socialist Republic....
and Abkhazia
Abkhazia
Abkhazia is a disputed political entity on the eastern coast of the Black Sea and the south-western flank of the Caucasus.Abkhazia considers itself an independent state, called the Republic of Abkhazia or Apsny...
as a result of the 2008 South Ossetia War
2008 South Ossetia war
The 2008 South Ossetia War or Russo-Georgian War was an armed conflict in August 2008 between Georgia on one side, and Russia and separatist governments of South Ossetia and Abkhazia on the other....
.
On 11 November 2010, Georgian Deputy Prime Minister Giorgi Baramidze announced that Georgia wants to cooperate with Ukraine in their attempt to join the European Union.
Moldova
The government of MoldovaMoldova
Moldova , officially the Republic of Moldova is a landlocked state in Eastern Europe, located between Romania to the West and Ukraine to the North, East and South. It declared itself an independent state with the same boundaries as the preceding Moldavian Soviet Socialist Republic in 1991, as part...
has stated that the country has European aspirations but there has been little progress. In 2005, the ruling Party of Communists of the Republic of Moldova reoriented their foreign policy towards Europe. The unresolved territorial integrity issue of the breakaway republic
Disputed status of Transnistria
The political status of Transnistria, an unrecognized state on the internationally recognized territory of the Republic of Moldova, has been disputed since the Transnistrian declaration of independence on September 2, 1990. This declaration established a Soviet Socialist Republic separate from...
of Transnistria
Transnistria
Transnistria is a breakaway territory located mostly on a strip of land between the Dniester River and the eastern Moldovan border to Ukraine...
is a major barrier to any progress. On 6 October 2005, the EU opened its permanent mission in Chişinău
Chisinau
Chișinău is the capital and largest municipality of Moldova. It is also its main industrial and commercial centre and is located in the middle of the country, on the river Bîc...
, the capital city of Moldova.
Moldova currently aspires to join the European Union and is implementing its first three-year action plan within the framework of the European Neighbourhood Policy (ENP) of the EU. The Partnership and Cooperation Agreement (PCA) represents the legal framework for the Republic of Moldova—European Union relationship. The agreement was signed on 28 November 1994 and entered into force on 1 July 1998 for the next 10 years. This arrangement provides for a basis of cooperation with the EU in the political, commercial, economic, legal, cultural, and scientific areas. The EU is developing an increasingly close relationship with Moldova, going beyond co-operation, to gradual economic integration and a deepening of political co-operation.
In August 2009, four Moldovan parties agreed to create a governing coalition, called Alliance For European Integration
Alliance for European Integration
The Alliance for European Integration is the ruling coalition in Moldova since the July 2009 election.-Overall context :After April 2009 election and the civil unrest, the climate in Moldova became very polarised. The parliament failed to elect a new president. For this reason, the parliament was...
. The Liberal Democratic Party, Liberal Party, Democratic Party, and Our Moldova have committed themselves to achieving such goals as European integration and promoting a balanced, consistent, and responsible foreign policy.
Some political parties within both Moldova and Romania advocate a merging of the two countries. Such a scenario would incorporate the current territory of Moldova into Romania and thus into the EU, though the Transnistria problem would still be an issue.
Ukraine
Many political factions of UkraineUkraine
Ukraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It has an area of 603,628 km², making it the second largest contiguous country on the European continent, after Russia...
advocate joining the EU and developing ties with Europe. Since the Orange Revolution
Orange Revolution
The Orange Revolution was a series of protests and political events that took place in Ukraine from late November 2004 to January 2005, in the immediate aftermath of the run-off vote of the 2004 Ukrainian presidential election which was claimed to be marred by massive corruption, voter...
of late 2004, Ukraine's membership prospects have improved: Opposition leader Viktor Yushchenko
Viktor Yushchenko
Viktor Andriyovych Yushchenko is a former President of Ukraine. He took office on January 23, 2005, following a period of popular unrest known as the Orange Revolution...
hinted that he would press the EU for deeper ties, and described a four-point plan: the acknowledgment of Ukraine as a market economy, entry in the World Trade Organisation, associate membership with the EU, and lastly full membership. In a similar way, the Ukrainian government asked Brussels to give Ukraine a clearer prospect for membership, claiming that the current plan reflected only the pre-orange revolution situation. However, following ambiguous signals from the EU, Yushchenko has responded to the apathetic mood of the Commission by stating that he intends to send an application for EU membership "in the near future". In September 2009 two Ukrainian diplomats, backed by a number of others, went on record arguing that Ukraine should submit a formal application for membership in 2010 in order to get a clearer message from Brussels. If lodged in 2010, it would likely be considered a year later under the Polish EU presidency, a country which has supported Ukrainian membership. However, a 2009 poll indicates only 34% support from the Ukrainian people for membership.
Inside the EU, opinion is split. Several EU leaders have already stated strong support for closer economic ties with Ukraine but have stopped short of direct support for such a bid. In 2005, Polish Foreign Minister Adam Daniel Rotfeld
Adam Daniel Rotfeld
Adam Daniel Rotfeld is a Polish researcher, diplomat, and former Minister of Foreign Affairs of Poland from 5 January 2005 until 31 October 2005 when a change of government took place. He served earlier as the deputy foreign minister...
noted that Poland will in every way promote Ukraine's desire to be integrated with the EU, get the status of a market-economy country and join the WTO. Portugal also publicly stated it supports Ukraine's EU accession. On 13 January 2005 the European Parliament
European Parliament
The European Parliament is the directly elected parliamentary institution of the European Union . Together with the Council of the European Union and the Commission, it exercises the legislative function of the EU and it has been described as one of the most powerful legislatures in the world...
almost unanimously (467 votes to 19 in favour) passed a motion
Motion (democracy)
A motion is a formal step to introduce a matter for consideration by a group. It is a common concept in the procedure of trade unions, students' unions, corporations, and other deliberative assemblies...
stating the wish of the Parliament to establish closer ties with Ukraine with the possibility of EU membership. A 2005 poll of the six largest EU nations showed that the European public would be more likely to accept Ukraine as a future EU member than any other country that is not currently an official candidate. The European Commission
European Commission
The European Commission is the executive body of the European Union. The body is responsible for proposing legislation, implementing decisions, upholding the Union's treaties and the general day-to-day running of the Union....
has stated that future EU membership will not be ruled out and in 2005 Commission President
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 ― the most powerful officeholder in the EU. The President is responsible for allocating portfolios to members of the Commission and can reshuffle or dismiss them if needed...
José Manuel Barroso said that the future of Ukraine is in the EU. However, the Commission suggested that the current enlargement agenda (the Western Balkans and Turkey) could block the possibility of a future accession of the Eastern Partnership
Eastern Partnership
The Eastern Partnership is a project which was initiated by the European Union . It was presented by the foreign minister of Poland with assistance from Sweden at a the EU's General Affairs and External Relations Council in Brussels on 26 May 2008...
states. Enlargement Commissioner
European Commissioner for Enlargement
The Commissioner for Enlargement and European Neighbourhood Policy is the member of the European Commission in charge of overseeing the accession process of prospective new member states and relations with those bordering the European Union...
Olli Rehn
Olli Rehn
Olli Ilmari Rehn is a Finnish politician, currently serving as European Commissioner for Economic and Financial Affairs. He had previously served as Commissioner for Enlargement...
said that the EU should avoid overstretch, adding that the current enlargement agenda is already very heavy. In 2002, then-Enlargement Commissioner Günter Verheugen
Günter Verheugen
-Erler:At around the same time, photographs appeared showing him holidaying with Petra Erler, the head of his private office. A Commission spokesman backed him by saying "the private holidays of Vice President Verheugen in Lithuania this summer did not violate the rules applicable to members of the...
said that "a European perspective" for Ukraine
Ukraine
Ukraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It has an area of 603,628 km², making it the second largest contiguous country on the European continent, after Russia...
does not necessarily mean membership in 10 or 20 years, however, that does not mean it is not a possibility.
Europe outside the ENP and EaP
Kazakhstan
The Partnership and Cooperation Agreement (PCA) with Kazakhstan has been the legal framework for EU-Kazakhstan bilateral relations since it entered into force in 1999. "Kazakhstan has a westward extension, which makes a strong case geographically for its European Neighbourhood status." In 2009, the ambassador of KazakhstanKazakhstan
Kazakhstan , officially the Republic of Kazakhstan, is a transcontinental country in Central Asia and Eastern Europe. Ranked as the ninth largest country in the world, it is also the world's largest landlocked country; its territory of is greater than Western Europe...
to Russia, Adilbek Dzhaksybekov
Adilbek Dzhaksybekov
Adilbek Dzhaksybekov is Kazakhstan's minister of defence. He was the head of Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbayev's administration...
said "We would like to join in the future the European Union, but to join not as Estonia
Estonia
Estonia , officially the Republic of Estonia , is a state in the Baltic region of Northern Europe. It is bordered to the north by the Gulf of Finland, to the west by the Baltic Sea, to the south by Latvia , and to the east by Lake Peipsi and the Russian Federation . Across the Baltic Sea lies...
and Latvia
Latvia
Latvia , officially the Republic of Latvia , is a country in the Baltic region of Northern Europe. It is bordered to the north by Estonia , to the south by Lithuania , to the east by the Russian Federation , to the southeast by Belarus and shares maritime borders to the west with Sweden...
, but as an equal partner". This statement is mostly visionary and about long term perspective, because currently Kazakhstan is not even participating in the European Neighbourhood Policy
European Neighbourhood Policy
The European Neighbourhood Policy is a foreign relations instrument of the European Union which seeks to tie those countries to the east and south of the EU into the EU...
(ENP) although the Kazakh Foreign Ministry has expressed interest in the ENP and MEP
Member of the European Parliament
A Member of the European Parliament is a person who has been elected to the European Parliament. The name of MEPs differ in different languages, with terms such as europarliamentarian or eurodeputy being common in Romance language-speaking areas.When the European Parliament was first established,...
s also suggested Kazakhstan's inclusion in the ENP. However, membership would require big advances in human rights
Human rights
Human rights are "commonly understood as inalienable fundamental rights to which a person is inherently entitled simply because she or he is a human being." Human rights are thus conceived as universal and egalitarian . These rights may exist as natural rights or as legal rights, in both national...
and democracy.
Russia
During the preparation stages of the ENP, RussiaRussia
Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
insisted on the creation of the four EU-Russia Common Spaces instead of ENP participation, In the framework of the EU-Russia Common Spaces in May 2005, a roadmap was adopted with similar content to the ENP Action Plans. Both the ENP and the EU-Russia Common Spaces are implemented by the EU through the European Neighbourhood and Partnership Instrument.
Among the most vocal supporters of Russian membership of the EU has been Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi
Silvio Berlusconi
Silvio Berlusconi , also known as Il Cavaliere – from knighthood to the Order of Merit for Labour which he received in 1977 – is an Italian politician and businessman who served three terms as Prime Minister of Italy, from 1994 to 1995, 2001 to 2006, and 2008 to 2011. Berlusconi is also the...
; in October 2008 he said "I consider Russia to be a Western country and my plan is for the Russian Federation to be able to become a member of the European Union in the coming years" and stated that he had this vision for years. Russian permanent representative to the EU Vladimir Chizhov commented on this by saying that Russia has no plans of joining the EU. Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin
Vladimir Putin
Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin served as the second President of the Russian Federation and is the current Prime Minister of Russia, as well as chairman of United Russia and Chairman of the Council of Ministers of the Union of Russia and Belarus. He became acting President on 31 December 1999, when...
has said that Russia joining the EU would not be in the interests of either Russia or the EU, although he advocated close integration in various dimensions including establishment of four common spaces
European Union-Russia Common Spaces
Russia–European Union relations are the international relations between the supranational European Union and its largest bordering state, Russia, to the east. The relations of individual member states of the European Union and Russia vary, though a 1990s common foreign policy outline towards...
between Russia and the EU, including united economic, educational and scientific spaces as it was declared in the agreement in 2003.
At present, the prospect of Russia joining the EU any time in the near future is slim. Analysts have commented that Russia is "decades away" from qualifying for EU membership. Former German Chancellor Gerhard Schröder
Gerhard Schröder
Gerhard Fritz Kurt Schröder is a German politician, and was Chancellor of Germany from 1998 to 2005. A member of the Social Democratic Party of Germany , he led a coalition government of the SPD and the Greens. Before becoming a full-time politician, he was a lawyer, and before becoming Chancellor...
has also said that though Russia must "find its place both in NATO, and, in the longer term, in the European Union, and if conditions are created for this to happen" that such a thing is not economically feasible in the near future.
States outside Europe
In the Treaty of MaastrichtMaastricht Treaty
The Maastricht Treaty was signed on 7 February 1992 by the members of the European Community in Maastricht, Netherlands. On 9–10 December 1991, the same city hosted the European Council which drafted the treaty...
(Article 49), it is stated that any European country (as defined by the EU political assessment) that respects the principles of the European Union may apply to join. No mention is made of enlarging the EU to include non-European countries, and the precedents of turning down Morocco
Morocco
Morocco , officially the Kingdom of Morocco , is a country located in North Africa. It has a population of more than 32 million and an area of 710,850 km², and also primarily administers the disputed region of the Western Sahara...
's application and defining Israel
Israel
The State of Israel is a parliamentary republic located in the Middle East, along the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea...
's closest integration as "just short of full membership" suggest that currently states outside geographic Europe are unlikely to obtain full EU membership.
Despite such precedents, Cape Verde
Cape Verde
The Republic of Cape Verde is an island country, spanning an archipelago of 10 islands located in the central Atlantic Ocean, 570 kilometres off the coast of Western Africa...
has expressed its desire to join the EU.
However, some non-European states have different degrees of integration with the EU stipulated by agreements, always short of membership. Alternatively such countries could be integrated into a larger regional block or an overlapping block such as Nicolas Sarkozy
Nicolas Sarkozy
Nicolas Sarkozy is the 23rd and current President of the French Republic and ex officio Co-Prince of Andorra. He assumed the office on 16 May 2007 after defeating the Socialist Party candidate Ségolène Royal 10 days earlier....
's proposal to create a Mediterranean Union, or a lesser organisation such as the Euro-Mediterranean free trade area
Euro-Mediterranean free trade area
The European Union-Mediterranean Free Trade Area , also called the Euro-Mediterranean Free Trade Area or Euromed FTA, is based on the Barcelona Process and European Neighbourhood Policy...
. The current frameworks for development of such agreements are the Barcelona process and the European Neighbourhood Policy
European Union Association Agreement
A European Union Association Agreement is a treaty between the European Union and a non-EU country that creates a framework for co-operation between them. Areas frequently covered by such agreements include the development of political, trade, social, cultural and security links...
.
Cape Verde
Cape VerdeCape Verde
The Republic of Cape Verde is an island country, spanning an archipelago of 10 islands located in the central Atlantic Ocean, 570 kilometres off the coast of Western Africa...
is an island nation
Island nation
An island country is a state whose primary territory consists of one or more islands or parts of islands. As of 2011, 47 of the 193 UN member states are island countries.-Politics:...
of the Atlantic Ocean and formerly a Portuguese
Portugal
Portugal , officially the Portuguese Republic is a country situated in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula. Portugal is the westernmost country of Europe, and is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the West and South and by Spain to the North and East. The Atlantic archipelagos of the...
colony. In March 2005 former Portuguese president Mário Soares
Mário Soares
Mário Alberto Nobre Lopes Soares, GColTE, GCC, GColL, KE , Portuguese politician, served as Prime Minister of Portugal from 1976 to 1978 and from 1983 to 1985, and subsequently as the 17th President of Portugal from 1986 to 1996.-Family:...
launched a petition urging the European Union to start membership talks with it, saying that Cape Verde could act as a bridge between Africa, Latin America and the EU.
Cape Verde's per capita GDP is lower than any of the current member states, accession countries, or candidate countries. Most of the imports and exports of Cape Verde are from and to the European Union, and it has a service-based economy. Its currency, the escudo, is pegged
Fixed exchange rate
A fixed exchange rate, sometimes called a pegged exchange rate, is a type of exchange rate regime wherein a currency's value is matched to the value of another single currency or to a basket of other currencies, or to another measure of value, such as gold.A fixed exchange rate is usually used to...
to the euro.
Although the Cape Verde archipelago
Archipelago
An archipelago , sometimes called an island group, is a chain or cluster of islands. The word archipelago is derived from the Greek ἄρχι- – arkhi- and πέλαγος – pélagos through the Italian arcipelago...
is geographically in Africa, there have been similar situations before. Cyprus
Cyprus
Cyprus , officially the Republic of Cyprus , is a Eurasian island country, member of the European Union, in the Eastern Mediterranean, east of Greece, south of Turkey, west of Syria and north of Egypt. It is the third largest island in the Mediterranean Sea.The earliest known human activity on the...
is an island nation which, despite being geographically in Asia, has already joined both the Council of Europe and the EU. Furthermore, the Cape Verde islands are part of the same island group as the Canary Islands
Canary Islands
The Canary Islands , also known as the Canaries , is a Spanish archipelago located just off the northwest coast of mainland Africa, 100 km west of the border between Morocco and the Western Sahara. The Canaries are a Spanish autonomous community and an outermost region of the European Union...
(part of Spain) and Madeira Islands (part of Portugal), known as Macaronesia
Macaronesia
Macaronesia is a modern collective name for several groups of islands in the North Atlantic Ocean near Europe and North Africa belonging to three countries: Portugal, Spain, and Cape Verde...
. There is currently no political recognition by the EU of Cape Verde as a European state, but unlike in the case of Morocco
Morocco
Morocco , officially the Kingdom of Morocco , is a country located in North Africa. It has a population of more than 32 million and an area of 710,850 km², and also primarily administers the disputed region of the Western Sahara...
, there is no formal rejection either.
Recently Cape Verde has been distancing itself from its regional African partners and forging closer ties with the EU. In a move signaling its preparation to loosen ties with the West African regional bloc, the government of Cape Verde in September 2006 declared its intentions on suspending the ECOWAS free movement of goods and trade. Prime Minister José Maria Neves
José Maria Neves
José Maria Pereira Neves on the island of Santiago , is the Prime Minister of Cape Verde.“José Maria Neves became interested in the politics and government of Cape Verde as a teen-ager.” “He was the leader of a nationalist youth organization during the country’s transition from Portuguese rule to...
announced that his country will start imposing restrictions on the entrance of citizens from all ECOWAS member states. This is also an effort to limit the recent rise of illegal immigration of other West African nationals using Cape Verde and its proximity to the Canary Islands as a springboard towards Europe.
Israel
The principle of IsraelIsrael
The State of Israel is a parliamentary republic located in the Middle East, along the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea...
joining the European Union has been supported by some politicians in both Israel and Europe, including the former Israeli Foreign Minister, Silvan Shalom
Silvan Shalom
' , born 4 October 1958) is an Israeli politician, member of the Knesset for Likud and the country's Vice Prime Minister and Minister for Regional Development. He previously served as the country's Foreign Minister and Finance Minister.-Biography:...
, Israeli Minister of Foreign Affairs Avigdor Lieberman and former Italian Prime Minister, Silvio Berlusconi
Silvio Berlusconi
Silvio Berlusconi , also known as Il Cavaliere – from knighthood to the Order of Merit for Labour which he received in 1977 – is an Italian politician and businessman who served three terms as Prime Minister of Italy, from 1994 to 1995, 2001 to 2006, and 2008 to 2011. Berlusconi is also the...
. Two Italian MEP
Member of the European Parliament
A Member of the European Parliament is a person who has been elected to the European Parliament. The name of MEPs differ in different languages, with terms such as europarliamentarian or eurodeputy being common in Romance language-speaking areas.When the European Parliament was first established,...
s are currently campaigning in favour of Israeli membership. An opinion poll in 2004 showed that 85% of Israelis would support an application for membership. Another survey in 2011 showed support for EU membership is 81%.
The Israeli government has hinted several times that an EU membership bid is a possibility, but the EU itself proposes instead the closest possible integration "just short of full membership." Faster advancement of such plans is somewhat hampered by the current instability in the Middle East and conflicts in the West Bank
West Bank
The West Bank ) of the Jordan River is the landlocked geographical eastern part of the Palestinian territories located in Western Asia. To the west, north, and south, the West Bank shares borders with the state of Israel. To the east, across the Jordan River, lies the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan...
, Gaza Strip
Gaza Strip
thumb|Gaza city skylineThe Gaza Strip lies on the Eastern coast of the Mediterranean Sea. The Strip borders Egypt on the southwest and Israel on the south, east and north. It is about long, and between 6 and 12 kilometres wide, with a total area of...
, and Lebanon
Lebanon
Lebanon , officially the Republic of LebanonRepublic of Lebanon is the most common term used by Lebanese government agencies. The term Lebanese Republic, a literal translation of the official Arabic and French names that is not used in today's world. Arabic is the most common language spoken among...
. European public opinion of some of Israel's policies—especially those related to the aforementioned areas of conflict is, in general, poor. Proponents of Israel's accession to the EU suggest that such accession would help promote peace, because being a part of a strong alliance like the EU would allow Israel to withdraw from the occupied territories with no fear of risking its security.
The European Council
European Council
The European Council is an institution of the European Union. It comprises the heads of state or government of the EU member states, along with the President of the European Commission and the President of the European Council, currently Herman Van Rompuy...
has not been asked to take a stance regarding whether or not Israel is a European state, but similar circumstances to Morocco (being geographically outside Europe and without exceptional features such as CoE membership
Council of Europe
The Council of Europe is an international organisation promoting co-operation between all countries of Europe in the areas of legal standards, human rights, democratic development, the rule of law and cultural co-operation...
) will most likely preclude its inclusion as a full member into the EU as well. However, it can obtain a large degree of integration through the current and future EU Neighbourhood Policies – the former Spanish foreign minister Miguel Ángel Moratinos
Miguel Ángel Moratinos
Miguel Ángel Moratinos Cuyaubé is a Spanish diplomat and politician, a member of the Socialist Workers' Party and member of Congress where he represents Córdoba....
spoke out for a "privileged partnership
Privileged partnership
Privileged partnership is the term coined by the German conservative party CDU for their model of the future relation between Turkey and the European Union, which falls short of full membership...
, offering all the benefits of EU membership, without participation in the institutions". On 11 January 2005, industry commissioner and vice president of the commission Günter Verheugen
Günter Verheugen
-Erler:At around the same time, photographs appeared showing him holidaying with Petra Erler, the head of his private office. A Commission spokesman backed him by saying "the private holidays of Vice President Verheugen in Lithuania this summer did not violate the rules applicable to members of the...
even suggested the possibility of a monetary union and common market with Israel.
An argument for the inclusion of Israel into the EU as a full member is that it has a mostly "European" (or perhaps Europeanised) culture and thus forms an exclave in a largely Arab region. Israel also has a GDP per capita similar to many European countries. Some claim that allowing Israel into the EU would create a precedent for other geographically non-European countries to apply for membership, but in fact this precedent already exists as Cyprus
Cyprus
Cyprus , officially the Republic of Cyprus , is a Eurasian island country, member of the European Union, in the Eastern Mediterranean, east of Greece, south of Turkey, west of Syria and north of Egypt. It is the third largest island in the Mediterranean Sea.The earliest known human activity on the...
, which is already a member state, is geographically in Asia. Proponents of Israel's accession to the EU claim that Israel's situation is similar to that of Cyprus—a country outside of Europe geographically, but a part of Europe culturally and socially.
Morocco
MoroccoMorocco
Morocco , officially the Kingdom of Morocco , is a country located in North Africa. It has a population of more than 32 million and an area of 710,850 km², and also primarily administers the disputed region of the Western Sahara...
submitted an application to join the EU (then EEC
European Communities
The European Communities were three international organisations that were governed by the same set of institutions...
) in July 1987, but it was rejected by the European Council
European Council
The European Council is an institution of the European Union. It comprises the heads of state or government of the EU member states, along with the President of the European Commission and the President of the European Council, currently Herman Van Rompuy...
later in the year on the grounds that it "did not consider Morocco a European country". Although there are factors such as the developing economy or unresolved border issues with several of its neighbours and the occupation of Western Sahara
Western Sahara
Western Sahara is a disputed territory in North Africa, bordered by Morocco to the north, Algeria to the northeast, Mauritania to the east and south, and the Atlantic Ocean to the west. Its surface area amounts to . It is one of the most sparsely populated territories in the world, mainly...
, a European Union Association Agreement
European Union Association Agreement
A European Union Association Agreement is a treaty between the European Union and a non-EU country that creates a framework for co-operation between them. Areas frequently covered by such agreements include the development of political, trade, social, cultural and security links...
similar to that applied to Tunisia
Tunisia
Tunisia , officially the Tunisian RepublicThe long name of Tunisia in other languages used in the country is: , is the northernmost country in Africa. It is a Maghreb country and is bordered by Algeria to the west, Libya to the southeast, and the Mediterranean Sea to the north and east. Its area...
and Algeria
Algeria
Algeria , officially the People's Democratic Republic of Algeria , also formally referred to as the Democratic and Popular Republic of Algeria, is a country in the Maghreb region of Northwest Africa with Algiers as its capital.In terms of land area, it is the largest country in Africa and the Arab...
is implemented between Morocco
Morocco
Morocco , officially the Kingdom of Morocco , is a country located in North Africa. It has a population of more than 32 million and an area of 710,850 km², and also primarily administers the disputed region of the Western Sahara...
and the EU. The Moroccan government argues that a "substantial" amount of its territory is already part of the European Union, specifically Spanish enclaves
Plazas de soberanía
The plazas de soberanía or sovereign territories, referred to in English as Spanish North Africa or simply Spanish Africa, are the current Spanish territories in continental North Africa bordering Morocco, except the autonomous cities of Ceuta and Melilla.After the Reconquista, forces of the...
in Northern Africa that Morocco says are occupied territory.
Special territories of member states
There are multiple Special member state territories, some of them are not fully covered by the EU treaties and apply EU law only partially, if at all. It is possible for a dependency to change its status regarding the EU and/or some particular treaty or law provision. The territory may change its status from participation to leaving or from being outside to joining.British dependencies
British Overseas TerritoriesThe only country with the status of British Overseas Territory that is part of the EU is Gibraltar
Gibraltar
Gibraltar is a British overseas territory located on the southern end of the Iberian Peninsula at the entrance of the Mediterranean. A peninsula with an area of , it has a northern border with Andalusia, Spain. The Rock of Gibraltar is the major landmark of the region...
, which joined the EEC together with the United Kingdom in 1973. The other overseas territories are defined as Overseas Countries and Territories of the EU. All of them except Bermuda
Bermuda
Bermuda is a British overseas territory in the North Atlantic Ocean. Located off the east coast of the United States, its nearest landmass is Cape Hatteras, North Carolina, about to the west-northwest. It is about south of Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada, and northeast of Miami, Florida...
are associated with the EU (meaning they apply some parts of EU law) and their nationals are in principle EU citizens.
Crown Dependencies
Special terms were negotiated for the Channel Islands
Channel Islands
The Channel Islands are an archipelago of British Crown Dependencies in the English Channel, off the French coast of Normandy. They include two separate bailiwicks: the Bailiwick of Guernsey and the Bailiwick of Jersey...
and the Isle of Man
Isle of Man
The Isle of Man , otherwise known simply as Mann , is a self-governing British Crown Dependency, located in the Irish Sea between the islands of Great Britain and Ireland, within the British Isles. The head of state is Queen Elizabeth II, who holds the title of Lord of Mann. The Lord of Mann is...
on the UK’s accession to the European Economic Community
European Economic Community
The European Economic Community The European Economic Community (EEC) The European Economic Community (EEC) (also known as the Common Market in the English-speaking world, renamed the European Community (EC) in 1993The information in this article primarily covers the EEC's time as an independent...
. These are contained in Protocol 3 to the Treaty of Accession 1973. The effect of the protocol is that the Channel Islands and the Isle of Man are within the Common Customs Area and the Common External Tariff (i.e. they enjoy access to European Union countries of physical exports without tariff barriers). Other Community rules do not apply to the Islands.
Sovereign Base Areas
The UK Sovereign Base Areas, Akrotiri and Dhekelia
Akrotiri and Dhekelia
The Sovereign Base Areas of Akrotiri and Dhekelia are two British-administered areas comprising a British Overseas Territory on the island of Cyprus administered as Sovereign Base Areas of the United Kingdom...
on Cyprus did not join the European Union when the United Kingdom joined. Cyprus' Accession Treaty
Treaty of Accession 2003
The Treaty of Accession 2003 was the agreement between the European Union and ten countries , concerning these countries' accession into the EU...
specifically stated that this would not change with the accession of Cyprus to the European Union. However, currently, some provisions of the EU Law
European Union law
European Union law is a body of treaties and legislation, such as Regulations and Directives, which have direct effect or indirect effect on the laws of European Union member states. The three sources of European Union law are primary law, secondary law and supplementary law...
are applicable there—mainly border
Border
Borders define geographic boundaries of political entities or legal jurisdictions, such as governments, sovereign states, federated states and other subnational entities. Some borders—such as a state's internal administrative borders, or inter-state borders within the Schengen Area—are open and...
management, food safety
Food safety
Food safety is a scientific discipline describing handling, preparation, and storage of food in ways that prevent foodborne illness. This includes a number of routines that should be followed to avoid potentially severe health hazards....
and free movement of people and goods.
Danish self-governing communities
Faroe IslandsThe Faroe Islands
Faroe Islands
The Faroe Islands are an island group situated between the Norwegian Sea and the North Atlantic Ocean, approximately halfway between Scotland and Iceland. The Faroe Islands are a self-governing territory within the Kingdom of Denmark, along with Denmark proper and Greenland...
, a self-governing nation within the Kingdom of Denmark
Kingdom of Denmark
The Kingdom of Denmark or the Danish Realm , is a constitutional monarchy and sovereign state consisting of Denmark proper in northern Europe and two autonomous constituent countries, the Faroe Islands in the North Atlantic and Greenland in North America. Denmark is the hegemonial part, where the...
, are not part of the EU, as explicitly asserted by both Rome treaties. The relations with the EU are governed by a Fisheries Agreement (1977) and a Free Trade Agreement (1991, revised 1998). The main reason for remaining outside the EU is disagreements about the Common Fisheries Policy
Common Fisheries Policy
The Common Fisheries Policy is the fisheries policy of the European Union . It sets quotas for which member states are allowed to catch what amounts of each type of fish, as well as encouraging the fishing industry by various market interventions...
, which disfavours countries with large fish resources. Also, every member has to pay for the Common Agricultural Policy
Common Agricultural Policy
The Common Agricultural Policy is a system of European Union agricultural subsidies and programmes. It represents 48% of the EU's budget, €49.8 billion in 2006 ....
, which favours countries having much agriculture which the Faroe Islands does not.
Nevertheless, there are politicians, mainly in the right-wing Union Party (Sambandsflokkurin), led by their chairman Kaj Leo Johannesen
Kaj Leo Johannesen
- Handball Player for Kyndil :Kaj Leo Johannesen is not only a former football player, he is also a former handball player. He played 163 matches for Kyndil and scored 625 goals for the club.- Extern Links :* , The Prime Minister of the Faroe Islands* * * *...
, who would like to see the Faroes as a member of the EU. However, the chairman of the left-wing Republic (Tjóðveldi), Høgni Hoydal
Høgni Hoydal
Høgni Karsten Hoydal , commonly called Høgni Hoydal, is a Faroese politician currently serving as member of the Faroese Parliament, and formerly a member of the Danish Parliament.- Before taking office :...
, has expressed concerns that if the Faroes were to join the EU as is, they might vanish inside the EU, comparing this with the situation of the Shetland Islands
Shetland Islands
Shetland is a subarctic archipelago of Scotland that lies north and east of mainland Great Britain. The islands lie some to the northeast of Orkney and southeast of the Faroe Islands and form part of the division between the Atlantic Ocean to the west and the North Sea to the east. The total...
and Åland today, and wants the local government to solve the political situation between the Faroes and Denmark first.
On 26 September 2008, Kaj Leo Johannesen became Prime Minister of the Faroe Islands, and according to him his new government is actively going to seek a progressive Europe-policy, even stating that membership of the EU is a strong possibility.
Greenland
Greenland
Greenland
Greenland is an autonomous country within the Kingdom of Denmark, located between the Arctic and Atlantic Oceans, east of the Canadian Arctic Archipelago. Though physiographically a part of the continent of North America, Greenland has been politically and culturally associated with Europe for...
, a self-governing community that is part of the Kingdom of Denmark
Kingdom of Denmark
The Kingdom of Denmark or the Danish Realm , is a constitutional monarchy and sovereign state consisting of Denmark proper in northern Europe and two autonomous constituent countries, the Faroe Islands in the North Atlantic and Greenland in North America. Denmark is the hegemonial part, where the...
, is the only country to have left the EEC or EU. After the establishment of Greenland's home rule
Home rule
Home rule is the power of a constituent part of a state to exercise such of the state's powers of governance within its own administrative area that have been devolved to it by the central government....
in 1979 (effective from 1980), a second referendum on membership was held, where the people decided to leave the EEC. On 1 February 1985, Greenland
Greenland
Greenland is an autonomous country within the Kingdom of Denmark, located between the Arctic and Atlantic Oceans, east of the Canadian Arctic Archipelago. Though physiographically a part of the continent of North America, Greenland has been politically and culturally associated with Europe for...
left the EEC
European Economic Community
The European Economic Community The European Economic Community (EEC) The European Economic Community (EEC) (also known as the Common Market in the English-speaking world, renamed the European Community (EC) in 1993The information in this article primarily covers the EEC's time as an independent...
and EURATOM. Its status was changed to that of an Overseas Country. Danish nationals residing in Greenland (i.e. all native population) are nonetheless fully European citizens; they are not, however, entitled to vote in European elections.
There has been some speculation as to whether Greenland may consider rejoining the European Union. On 4 January 2007 the Danish daily Jyllands-Posten
Jyllands-Posten
Morgenavisen Jyllands-Posten , commonly shortened to Jyllands-Posten or JP, is a Danish daily broadsheet newspaper. It is based in Viby, a suburb of Århus, and with a weekday circulation of approximately 120,000 copies, it is among the largest-selling newspaper in Denmark...
quoted the former Danish minister for Greenland
Minister for Greenland
Minister of Greenland was a cabinet post for affairs with the Danish Arctic territory.Tom Høyem was Minister from 1982 and served till 1987 briefly ....
, Tom Høyem
Tom Høyem
Tom Høyem was born on 10 October 1941. Between September 1982 and September 1987, he served as Minister for Greenland within the Danish government under the premiership of Poul Schlüter...
, as saying "I would not be surprised if Greenland again becomes a member of the EU... The EU needs the Arctic window and Greenland cannot alone manage the gigantic Arctic possibilities".
Dutch territories in the Caribbean
The islands of ArubaAruba
Aruba is a 33 km-long island of the Lesser Antilles in the southern Caribbean Sea, located 27 km north of the coast of Venezuela and 130 km east of Guajira Peninsula...
, Curaçao
Curaçao
Curaçao is an island in the southern Caribbean Sea, off the Venezuelan coast. The Country of Curaçao , which includes the main island plus the small, uninhabited island of Klein Curaçao , is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands...
, Sint Maarten are constituent countries of the Kingdom of the Netherlands
Kingdom of the Netherlands
The Kingdom of the Netherlands is a sovereign state and constitutional monarchy with territory in Western Europe and in the Caribbean. The four parts of the Kingdom—Aruba, Curaçao, the Netherlands, and Sint Maarten—are referred to as "countries", and participate on a basis of equality...
, while Bonaire, Sint Eustatius and Saba are special Dutch municipalities
BES islands
The Caribbean Netherlands collectively refers to the three special municipalities of the Netherlands that are located overseas, in the Caribbean: Bonaire, Sint Eustatius and Saba...
. All are Overseas Countries and Territories (OCT) under Annex II of the EC treaty. OCTs are considered to be "associated" with the EU and apply some portions of EU law. The islands are opting to become an Outermost Region (OMR) of the EU, the same status the Azores
Azores
The Archipelago of the Azores is composed of nine volcanic islands situated in the middle of the North Atlantic Ocean, and is located about west from Lisbon and about east from the east coast of North America. The islands, and their economic exclusion zone, form the Autonomous Region of the...
, Madeira
Madeira
Madeira is a Portuguese archipelago that lies between and , just under 400 km north of Tenerife, Canary Islands, in the north Atlantic Ocean and an outermost region of the European Union...
, the Canary Islands
Canary Islands
The Canary Islands , also known as the Canaries , is a Spanish archipelago located just off the northwest coast of mainland Africa, 100 km west of the border between Morocco and the Western Sahara. The Canaries are a Spanish autonomous community and an outermost region of the European Union...
and the French overseas departments have.
When Bonaire, Sint Eustatius and Saba were established as Dutch public bodies after the dissolution of the Netherlands Antilles (which was an OCT) in 2010, their status within the EU were raised. Rather than change their status from an OCT to an outermost region, as their change in status within the Netherlands would imply, it was decided that their status would remain the same for at least five years. After those five years, their status would be reviewed.
If it was decided that one or all of the islands wish to integrate more with the EU then the Treaty of Lisbon
Treaty of Lisbon
The Treaty of Lisbon of 1668 was a peace treaty between Portugal and Spain, concluded at Lisbon on 13 February 1668, through the mediation of England, in which Spain recognized the sovereignty of Portugal's new ruling dynasty, the House of Braganza....
provides for that following a unanimous decision from the European Council
European Council
The European Council is an institution of the European Union. It comprises the heads of state or government of the EU member states, along with the President of the European Commission and the President of the European Council, currently Herman Van Rompuy...
. Former European Commissioner for Enlargement
European Commissioner for Enlargement
The Commissioner for Enlargement and European Neighbourhood Policy is the member of the European Commission in charge of overseeing the accession process of prospective new member states and relations with those bordering the European Union...
Danuta Hübner
Danuta Hübner
Danuta Hübner is a Polish economist, academic, and policy maker. She served as European Commissioner for Regional Policy from 22 November 2004 until 4 July 2009, when she resigned to become a Member of European Parliament for the Civic Platform....
has said before the European Parliament
European Parliament
The European Parliament is the directly elected parliamentary institution of the European Union . Together with the Council of the European Union and the Commission, it exercises the legislative function of the EU and it has been described as one of the most powerful legislatures in the world...
that she doesn't expect many problems to occur with such a status change, as the islands consist of only a few thousand people.
French overseas departments and collectivities
The territories of French GuianaFrench Guiana
French Guiana is an overseas region of France, consisting of a single overseas department located on the northern Atlantic coast of South America. It has borders with two nations, Brazil to the east and south, and Suriname to the west...
, Guadeloupe
Guadeloupe
Guadeloupe is an archipelago located in the Leeward Islands, in the Lesser Antilles, with a land area of 1,628 square kilometres and a population of 400,000. It is the first overseas region of France, consisting of a single overseas department. As with the other overseas departments, Guadeloupe...
, Martinique
Martinique
Martinique is an island in the eastern Caribbean Sea, with a land area of . Like Guadeloupe, it is an overseas region of France, consisting of a single overseas department. To the northwest lies Dominica, to the south St Lucia, and to the southeast Barbados...
, Mayotte
Mayotte
Mayotte is an overseas department and region of France consisting of a main island, Grande-Terre , a smaller island, Petite-Terre , and several islets around these two. The archipelago is located in the northern Mozambique Channel in the Indian Ocean, namely between northwestern Madagascar and...
and Réunion
Réunion
Réunion is a French island with a population of about 800,000 located in the Indian Ocean, east of Madagascar, about south west of Mauritius, the nearest island.Administratively, Réunion is one of the overseas departments of France...
are overseas departments of France and at the same time mono-departmental overseas regions. According to the EC treaty (article 299 2), these overseas departments are outermost regions (OMR) of the EU—hence provisions of the EC treaty apply there while derogations are allowed. The status of the overseas collectivities of Saint-Barthelemy and Saint-Martin is also defined as OMR by the Treaty of Lisbon
Treaty of Lisbon
The Treaty of Lisbon of 1668 was a peace treaty between Portugal and Spain, concluded at Lisbon on 13 February 1668, through the mediation of England, in which Spain recognized the sovereignty of Portugal's new ruling dynasty, the House of Braganza....
. New Caledonia and the overseas collectivities of French Polynesia, Saint Pierre et Miquelon and Wallis and Futuna are Overseas Countries and Territories of the EU.
New Caledonia
New Caledonia
New Caledonia
New Caledonia is a special collectivity of France located in the southwest Pacific Ocean, east of Australia and about from Metropolitan France. The archipelago, part of the Melanesia subregion, includes the main island of Grande Terre, the Loyalty Islands, the Belep archipelago, the Isle of...
has a unique status inside France and is not even a collectivité territoriale
Collectivité territoriale
A Territorial collectivity within the French Republic is the generic name for all subnational entities and dependent areas which have an elected local government and a "certain freedom of administration".- Categories :* Regions: There are 22 regions in metropolitan France and 5 ROM...
, unlike all other French subdivisions. Currently, in regard to the EU, it is one of the Overseas Countries and Territories (OCT).
As a result of the 1998 Nouméa Accord
Nouméa Accord
The Nouméa Accord of 1998 promises to grant political power to New Caledonia and its original population, the Kanaks, until the territory decides whether to remain within the French Republic or become an independent state in a referendum to be held between 2014 and 2019...
, New Caledonians will vote on an independence referendum scheduled between 2014 and 2019. This referendum will determine whether the territory remains a part of the French Republic as a "sui generis collectivity", or whether it will become an independent nation. The accords also specify a gradual devolution of powers to the local New Caledonian assembly.
Saint Barthélemy
Saint Martin and Saint-Barthélemy in 2007 seceded from Guadeloupe
Politics of Guadeloupe
Guadeloupe sends four deputies to the French National Assembly and three senators to the French Senate. One of the four National Assembly constituencies still includes Saint-Martin and Saint-Barthélemy even though they seceded from Guadeloupe in 2007...
and became overseas collectivities of France, but at the same time remained OMR
Outermost region
An outermost region is a region which is part of a European Union Member State, is situated outside of Europe and is fully part of the EU. There are nine of them: six French, two Portuguese and one Spanish.-External link:*...
s of the European Union. Later, the elected representatives of the island of Saint-Barthélemy expressed desire "to obtain a European status which would be better suited to its status under domestic law, particularly given its remoteness
Remoteness
Remoteness in English law is a set of rules in both tort and contract, which limits the amount of compensatory damages for a wrong.In negligence, the test of causation not only requires that the defendant was the cause in fact, but also requires that the loss or damage sustained by the claimant was...
from the mainland, its small insular economy largely devoted to tourism and subject to difficulties in obtaining supplies which hamper the application of some European Union standards
European Union law
European Union law is a body of treaties and legislation, such as Regulations and Directives, which have direct effect or indirect effect on the laws of European Union member states. The three sources of European Union law are primary law, secondary law and supplementary law...
." France, reflecting this desire, requested at the Council of the European Union
Council of the European Union
The Council of the European Union is the institution in the legislature of the European Union representing the executives of member states, the other legislative body being the European Parliament. The Council is composed of twenty-seven national ministers...
to change the status of Saint Barthélemy to an OCT associated with the European Union.
It is expected that the status change will be in effect from 1 January 2012.
Northern Cyprus
Officially, the island nation CyprusCyprus
Cyprus , officially the Republic of Cyprus , is a Eurasian island country, member of the European Union, in the Eastern Mediterranean, east of Greece, south of Turkey, west of Syria and north of Egypt. It is the third largest island in the Mediterranean Sea.The earliest known human activity on the...
is part of the European Union, under the de jure
De jure
De jure is an expression that means "concerning law", as contrasted with de facto, which means "concerning fact".De jure = 'Legally', De facto = 'In fact'....
sovereignty of the Republic of Cyprus. Turkish Cypriots
Turkish Cypriots
Turkish Cypriots are the ethnic Turks and members of the Turkish-speaking ethnolinguistic community of the Eastern Mediterranean island of Cyprus. The term is used to refer explicitly to the indigenous Turkish Cypriots, whose Ottoman Turkish forbears colonised the island in 1571...
are citizens of the Republic of Cyprus and thus of the European Union, and were entitled to vote in the 2004 European Parliament election
European Parliament election, 2004
Elections to the European Parliament were held from 10 June 2004 to 13 June 2004 in the 25 member states of the European Union, using varying election days according to local custom...
(though only a few hundred registered). The EU's acquis communautaire is suspended indefinitely in the northern third of the island, which has remained outside the control of the Republic of Cyprus since the Turkish invasion of 1974
Turkish invasion of Cyprus
The Turkish invasion of Cyprus, launched on 20 July 1974, was a Turkish military invasion in response to a Greek military junta backed coup in Cyprus...
. The Greek Cypriot
Greek Cypriots
Greek Cypriots are the ethnic Greek population of Cyprus, forming the island's largest ethnolinguistic community at 77% of the population. Greek Cypriots are mostly members of the Church of Cyprus, an autocephalous Greek Orthodox Church within the wider communion of Orthodox Christianity...
community rejected the Annan Plan
Annan Plan for Cyprus
The Annan Plan was a United Nations proposal to resolve the Cyprus dispute, reuniting the breakaway Northern Cyprus with the Republic of Cyprus. The proposal was to restructure Cyprus as the "United Cyprus Republic", which would be a federation of two states. It was revised a number of times before...
for the settlement of the Cyprus dispute
Cyprus dispute
The Cyprus dispute is the result of the ongoing conflict between the Republic of Cyprus and Turkey, over the Turkish occupied northern part of Cyprus....
in a referendum on 24 April 2004. Had the referendum been in favour of the settlement proposal, the island (excluding the British Sovereign Base Areas
Sovereign Base Areas
The Sovereign Base Areas are military bases located on territory in which the United Kingdom is sovereign, but which are separated from the ordinary British territory....
) would have joined the European Union as the United Cyprus Republic.
The European Union's relations with the Turkish Cypriot Community are handled by the European Commission
European Commission
The European Commission is the executive body of the European Union. The body is responsible for proposing legislation, implementing decisions, upholding the Union's treaties and the general day-to-day running of the Union....
's Directorate-General for Enlargement
Directorate-General for Enlargement (European Commission)
The Directorate-General for Enlargement is a Directorate-General of the European Commission. The DG Enlargement is responsible for the enlargement process of the European Union...
.
Secessionist scenarios
There are a number of independence movements within member states, e.g., in CataloniaCatalan independentism
Catalan independentism is a political movement, derived from Catalan nationalism, which supports the independence of Catalonia or the so-called Catalan countries from Spain and France...
, Flanders
Partition of Belgium
The partition of Belgium, or the dissolution of the Belgian state through the separation of the Dutch-speaking people of the Flanders region and Brussels from the French-speaking people of the Walloon region and Brussels, granting them either independence or respective accession to the Netherlands...
, and Scotland
Scottish independence
Scottish independence is a political ambition of political parties, advocacy groups and individuals for Scotland to secede from the United Kingdom and become an independent sovereign state, separate from England, Wales and Northern Ireland....
. At present, only one region or territory of an existing EU member state, Algeria
Algeria
Algeria , officially the People's Democratic Republic of Algeria , also formally referred to as the Democratic and Popular Republic of Algeria, is a country in the Maghreb region of Northwest Africa with Algiers as its capital.In terms of land area, it is the largest country in Africa and the Arab...
, has seceded and became an independent state (from France), and if such a scenario were to occur there is uncertainty as to what would happen if the new country wished to remain a part of the EU. The Commission
European Commission
The European Commission is the executive body of the European Union. The body is responsible for proposing legislation, implementing decisions, upholding the Union's treaties and the general day-to-day running of the Union....
has so far refused to form an official position on such scenarios, considering them "entirely hypothetical".
One close precedent to such a scenario would be Greenland voting to leave the European Economic Community
Greenland and the European Union
Greenland has a special relationship with the European Union due to its link with EU state Denmark.-Trade:In 2010, Greeland's exports to the EU amounted to €331 million and the Greenland imports from the EU were valued at €614 million . Exports to the EU were mainly food and live animals...
(the predecessor to the EU) after gaining greater autonomy
Greenlandic European Economic Community membership referendum, 1982
The Greenlandic European Economic Community membership referendum, 1982 was a consultative referendum over whether Greenland should continue to be a member of the European Economic Community which took place on 23 February 1982....
from Denmark
Denmark
Denmark is a Scandinavian country in Northern Europe. The countries of Denmark and Greenland, as well as the Faroe Islands, constitute the Kingdom of Denmark . It is the southernmost of the Nordic countries, southwest of Sweden and south of Norway, and bordered to the south by Germany. Denmark...
in 1982. However, the similarity between this and other proposed scenarios is disputed. If a seceding province/country re-applied for EU membership, such a country would likely have no problems in meeting the criteria for membership as it already complies with EU law.
In case of a Flemish secession from Belgium, the future status of Brussels
Brussels
Brussels , officially the Brussels Region or Brussels-Capital Region , is the capital of Belgium and the de facto capital of the European Union...
(the de facto capital of the EU
Brussels and the European Union
Brussels is considered to be the de facto capital of the European Union, having a long history of hosting the institutions of the European Union within its European Quarter...
) could be unclear. There are proposals for Brussels to become an EU capital district (such as Canberra
Canberra
Canberra is the capital city of Australia. With a population of over 345,000, it is Australia's largest inland city and the eighth-largest city overall. The city is located at the northern end of the Australian Capital Territory , south-west of Sydney, and north-east of Melbourne...
, Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, "the District", or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States. On July 16, 1790, the United States Congress approved the creation of a permanent national capital as permitted by the U.S. Constitution....
or Brasília
Brazilian Federal District
The Federal District is set apart for Brasília, the capital of Brazil. Located in a region called Planalto Central, or Central Plateau, the Federal District is divided in 29 administrative regions. Brasilia - place where the three branches of the Federal Government are located - is the main...
) or member state with heavy involvement and subsidy from the EU.
See also
- Countries bordering the European UnionCountries bordering the European UnionThis is a list of countries bordering the European Union, and its predecessor the European Communities, both at its current geographical extent and after all previous rounds of enlargement.- 2007 to present :...
- Withdrawal from the EU
External links
- Enlargement – EuropaEuropa (web portal)Europa is the official web portal of the European Union . It is intended to improve the public’s interaction with EU institutions by quickly directing website visitors to the services or information they are seeking. Europa links to all EU agencies and institutions in addition to press releases...
- European Union Member States and applicant countries – European NAvigatorEuropean NAvigatorEuropean NAvigator was the former name of the digital library on the history of European integration and related institutions. The research project is now online at www.cvce.eu, a website dedicated to European integration studies....
- War crimes, conditionality and EU integration in the Western Balkans, by Vojin Dimitrijevic, Florence Hartmann, Dejan Jovic, Tija Memisevic, edited by Judy Batt, Jelena Obradović, Chaillot Paper No. 116, June 2009, European Union Institute for Security StudiesEuropean Union Institute for Security StudiesThe European Union Institute for Security Studies is a Paris-based EU agency of the Common Foreign and Security Policy . Its goals are to find a common security culture for the EU, to help develop and project the CFSP, and to enrich Europe’s strategic debate.The EUISS is an autonomous agency with...