()
This is a 'list of European Union member states, their dates of application and accession'. It shows the growth of the
European Union and its predecessors through
enlargement from six members in 1952 to twenty-seven members in 2007;
as of 2007, at least seven (possibly even more) are expected to join in its future.
The European Union ''
per se'' was created on
1 November 1993 when the
Treaty on European Union came into effect.
[1] Twelve of the current twenty-seven member states joined one of the Union's predecessors, either the
European Coal and Steel Community (which came into existence on
23 July 1952[1] and ceased to exist exactly 50 years later
[1]), the
European Economic Community (which came into existence on
1 January 1958[1]), or the
European Community (which came into existence on
1 July 1967 as a merger of ECSC, EEC and the
European Atomic Energy Community,
[1] and is one of the
three pillars of the European Union today).
Candidate countries
()
In addition to the current twenty-seven member states, a number of other countries are expected to join the European Union in the next two decades.
Croatia, the
former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia and
Turkey are officially candidate countries; Croatia and Turkey are currently in accession negotiations,
[1] while negotiations with the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia are expected to start in 2007.
[1] The remaining states in the
Balkans (
Albania,
Bosnia and Herzegovina,
Montenegro and
Serbia, including
Kosovo under
United Nations Security Council Resolution 1244 of
10 June 1999) are officially "potential candidate countries", which means they have a clear perspective for accession over the course of the next decade.
[1]
The European Union's Enlargement
Commissioner Olli Rehn originally stated that the next enlargement after Bulgaria and Romania would only happen after
2010, due to the European Union's need to sort out its institutional problems first,
[1] the
European Commission's
President José Manuel Durão Barroso later stated that the provisions in the
Treaty of Nice were clear enough; while he considered institutional reform necessary, it was not intended to be a stumbling bloc for countries seeking to join the European Union.
[1] However, on
25 September 2006 (the day before the accession date of Bulgaria and Romania was officially made public), Barroso stated that a new treaty 'would' be necessary before further enlargement could occur.
[1]
Countries who failed to join or left
Not all accession attempts have been successful, though, and on one occasion a territory even left the European Union (then European Community).
★ While '
Norway' had completed European Community/European Union accession negotiations twice already (with the proposed accession dates having been
1 January 1973 and
1 January 1995, respectively), the accession failed both times when the Norwegians rejected membership in referendums (on
25 September 1972[1] and
28 November 1994[1]).
★ The
Danish autonomous territory of '
Greenland' initially joined the European Community together with Denmark, but left on
1 February 1985 after it had acquired
home rule and had held a referendum on the issue.
[1]
★ '
Morocco' applied to join in 1987, but was rejected by the
European Council because it was
not considered a European country and therefore not eligible to join.
[1] (Interestingly, the Copenhagen criteria had not yet been formally agreed upon at that time.)
★ Although '
Switzerland' applied to join in 1992, it froze its application after accession to the
European Economic Area was rejected in a referendum on
6 December 1992.
[1]
Future prospects
()
:''
This section is incomplete. You can help by adding information about the current situation in the European microstates Monaco and Vatican City, as well as in associated territories (especially Greenland).''
It is generally assumed that even with the accession of the states of southeastern Europe, the process of enlargement will not be finished.
[1]
;European countries
Armenia,
[1][1] Georgia,
[1] Moldova[1][1] and
Ukraine[1][1][1][1] have stated they would like to join the European Union; however, the European Union's response was lukewarm at best.
[1] European Union membership is also the subject of political debate in
Andorra,
[1][32] Azerbaijan,
[1] the
Faroe Islands,
[1] Iceland,
[1] Liechtenstein[32] and
San Marino,
[1] and the debates in
Norway[1] and
Switzerland[1] are also still ongoing. While
Belarus[1] and
Russia[1] are also seen as eligible to join, and while accession to the European Union enjoys public support in Belarus,
[1] the lack of democratic structures makes these countries' accession impossible in the short term, especially as the European Union is supporting the Belarusian opposition and civil society in peacefully overthrowing
Alexander Lukashenko's regime, which it regards as dictatorial,
[1][1] going so far as to offer concrete benefits for democratic reforms.
[1][1][1] Furthermore, the European Union is trying to bind Russia more strongly to its own policies and goals through partnership and cooperation agreements.
[1]
;Non-European countries
Although the
Treaty of Maastricht states that only European countries may apply, a number of countries not generally considered European have also considered membership bids.
The island nation of
Cape Verde, part of the island region
Macaronesia (which is comprised of Cape Verde, the
Portuguese islands of the
Azores and
Madeira and the
Spanish Canary Islands) has stated it wishes to join the European Union.
[1][1][1] Israel has considered applying for membership;
[1] while the European Union and Israel share a common culture, history and society, the ongoing
Arab-Israeli and
Israeli-Palestinian conflicts and Israel's location in one of the most conflict-ridden regions of the world would be major arguments against its accession. Finally, even
Canada's accession has occasionally been proposed, though often rather in a
tongue-in-cheek manner;
[1] the main arguments used are the very similar cultural standards and viewpoints on matters of
international law, especially when juxtaposed with those of the
United States. None of the three countries is a member of the
Council of Europe, which is a ''
de facto'' prerequisite for membership under the
Copenhagen criteria and the Treaty of Maastricht.
It is generally expected that the states of
southeastern Europe will be the next states to join the European Union, and that it will still take some time for Iceland, Norway and Switzerland to join, since public opinion is not yet in favour in those three states. Although Olli Rehn said on
19 May 2006 that he expected Iceland to join the European Union before Croatia would,
[1][1] he went back on his statement when he stated on
1 December 2006 that Croatia would likely become the European Union's 28 member state.
[1]
Listed by accession date
| # | State | Accession | Special territories |
|---|
| 1–6 | | 23 July 1952 (ECSC)
1 January 1958 (EEC) | — |
| incl. , , , , , ----excl. , ,
excl. , , |
| — |
| — |
| excl. , the |
| — |
| 7–9 | | 1 January 1973 (EC) | excl. the , (see above) |
| — |
| incl. ----excl. , , the
excl. Akrotiri and Dhekelia
excl. , the
excl. , the , the ,
excl. the , the ,
excl. the , |
| 10 | | 1 January 1981 (EC) | — |
| 11–12 | | 1 January 1986 (EC) | — |
| — |
| 13–15 | | 1 January 1995 | — |
| incl. |
| — |
| 16–25 | | 1 May 2004 | excl. Akrotiri and Dhekelia (''de iure'' and ''de facto'')
excl. , the UN Buffer Zone (''de facto'') |
| — |
| — |
| — |
| — |
| — |
| — |
| — |
| — |
| — |
| 26–27 | | 1 January 2007 | — |
| — |
| TBD | | ''in accession negotiations'' | — |
| — |
| MKD | ''candidate country'' | — |
| ''potential candidate country'' | — |
| — |
| — |
| — |
Listed by application date
| # | State | Application | Result/status |
|---|
| — | | — | founding members |
|
|
|
|
|
| 1 | | 1st: 31 July 1961
2nd: 11 May 1967 | 1st: withdrawn after Charles de Gaulle vetoed the United Kingdom's application
2nd: joined 1 January 1973 |
| 2–3 | | 1st: 10 August 1961
2nd: 11 May 1967 |
| 1st: 10 August 1961
2nd: 10 May 1967 | 1st: vetoed by Charles de Gaulle on 14 January 1963
2nd: joined 1 January 1973 |
| 4 | | 1st: 30 April 1962
2nd: 21 July 1967
3rd: 25 November 1992 | 1st: withdrawn after Charles de Gaulle vetoed the United Kingdom's application
2nd: withdrawn after a referendum on 25 September 1972
3rd: withdrawn after a referendum on 28 November 1994 |
| 5 | | 12 June 1975 | joined 1 January 1981 |
| 6 | | 28 March 1977 | joined 1 January 1986 |
| 7 | | 28 July 1977 |
| 8 | | 14 April 1987 | candidate country, in accession negotiations |
| 9 | | 20 July 1987 | rejected by the European Council (see geographic criteria) |
| 10 | | 17 July 1989 | joined 1 January 1995 |
| 11–12 | | 3 July 1990 | joined 1 May 2004 |
|
| 13 | | 1 July 1991 | joined 1 January 1995 |
| 14 | | 18 March 1992 |
| 15 | | 25 May 1992 | frozen after EEA membership was rejected in a referendum on 6 December 1992 |
| 16 | | 31 March 1994 | joined 1 May 2004 |
| 17 | | 5 April 1994 |
| 18 | | 22 June 1995 | joined 1 January 2007 |
| 19 | | 27 June 1995 | joined 1 May 2004 |
| 20 | | 13 October 1995 |
| 21 | | 24 November 1995 |
| 22 | | 8 December 1995 |
| 23 | | 14 December 1995 | joined 1 January 2007 |
| 24 | | 17 January 1996 | joined 1 May 2004 |
| 25 | | 10 June 1996 |
| 26 | | 21 February 2003 | candidate country, in accession negotiations, Stabilisation and Association Agreement (SAA) in force since 1 February 2005 |
| 27 | MKD | 24 March 2004 | candidate country, SAA in force since 1 May 2004 |
| TBD | | ''not yet'' | potential candidate country, SAA signed on 12 June 2006;[1] yet to be ratified by thirteen EU member states (Austria, Cyprus, the Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Malta, the Netherlands, Portugal and the United Kingdom) and the European Parliament (compare this for ratification progress) |
| potential candidate country, SAA signed on 15 March 2007;[1] yet to be ratified by Montenegro, all twenty-seven EU member states and the European Parliament (compare this for ratification progress) |
| potential candidate country, in SAA negotiations since 10 October 2005 (as Serbia and Montenegro), suspended from 3 May 2006[1] until 13 June 2007[1] over non-arrest of Ratko Mladić |
| potential candidate country, in SAA negotiations since 25 October 2005, conclusion only possible after police reforms have been carried out[1][1][1] |
Timeline
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id:membership value:rgb(0,0.2,0.6) legend:European_Union_member_state
id:line value:gray(0.8)
Period = from:01/01/1945 till:12/12/2010
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ScaleMajor = unit:year increment:5 start:1950 gridcolor:line
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bar:France
bar:Germany
bar:Italy
bar:Luxembourg
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bar:Greece
bar:Portugal
bar:Spain
bar:Turkey
bar:Morocco
bar:Austria
bar:Cyprus
bar:Malta
bar:Sweden
bar:Finland
bar:Switzerland
bar:Hungary
bar:Poland
bar:Romania
bar:Slovakia
bar:Latvia
bar:Estonia
bar:Lithuania
bar:Bulgaria
bar:Czech_Republic
bar:Slovenia
bar:Croatia
bar:Macedonia
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bar:Belgium color:membership from:23/07/1952 till:12/12/2008 shift:(-42,-5) text:Belgium
bar:France color:membership from:23/07/1952 till:12/12/2008 shift:(-37,-5) text:France
bar:Germany color:membership from:23/07/1952 till:12/12/2008 shift:(-80,-5) text:(West) Germany
bar:Italy color:membership from:23/07/1952 till:12/12/2008 shift:(-24,-5) text:Italy
bar:Luxembourg color:membership from:23/07/1952 till:12/12/2008 shift:(-62,-5) text:Luxembourg
bar:Netherlands color:membership from:23/07/1952 till:12/12/2008 shift:(-61,-5) text:Netherlands
bar:Ireland color:negotiations from:31/07/1961 till:14/01/1963 shift:(-36,-5) text:Ireland
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color:negotiations from:11/05/1967 till:12/12/1972
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bar:Denmark color:negotiations from:10/08/1961 till:14/01/1963 shift:(-47,-5) text:Denmark
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bar:United_Kingdom color:negotiations from:10/08/1961 till:14/01/1963 shift:(-80,-5) text:United Kingdom
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bar:Norway color:negotiations from:30/04/1962 till:14/01/1963 shift:(-39,-5) text:Norway
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color:negotiations from:21/07/1967 till:25/09/1972
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color:negotiations from:25/11/1992 till:28/11/1994
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bar:Greece color:negotiations from:12/06/1975 till:12/12/1980 shift:(-38,-5) text:Greece
color:membership from:01/01/1981 till:12/12/2008
bar:Portugal color:negotiations from:28/03/1977 till:12/12/1985 shift:(-44,-5) text:Portugal
color:membership from:01/01/1986 till:12/12/2008
bar:Spain color:negotiations from:28/03/1977 till:12/12/1985 shift:(-31,-5) text:Spain
color:membership from:01/01/1986 till:12/12/2008
bar:Turkey color:negotiations from:14/04/1987 till:12/12/2008 shift:(-38,-5) text:Turkey
at:12/12/2008 shift:(-54,-5) text:negotiating textcolor:green
bar:Morocco color:negotiations from:20/07/1987 till:12/12/1987 shift:(-43,-5) text:Morocco
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bar:Austria color:negotiations from:17/07/1989 till:12/12/1994 shift:(-38,-5) text:Austria
color:membership from:01/01/1995 till:12/12/2008
bar:Cyprus color:negotiations from:03/07/1990 till:31/03/2004 shift:(-40,-5) text:Cyprus
color:membership from:01/04/2004 till:12/12/2008
bar:Malta color:negotiations from:03/07/1990 till:31/03/2004 shift:(-31,-5) text:Malta
color:membership from:01/04/2004 till:12/12/2008
bar:Sweden color:negotiations from:01/07/1991 till:12/12/1994 shift:(-43,-5) text:Sweden
color:membership from:01/01/1995 till:12/12/2008
bar:Finland color:negotiations from:18/03/1992 till:12/12/1994 shift:(-41,-5) text:Finland
color:membership from:01/01/1995 till:12/12/2008
bar:Switzerland color:negotiations from:25/05/1992 till:12/12/2008 shift:(-59,-5) text:Switzerland
at:06/12/1992 shift:(160,-5) text:frozen textcolor:black
bar:Hungary color:negotiations from:31/03/1994 till:31/03/2004 shift:(-46,-5) text:Hungary
color:membership from:01/04/2004 till:12/12/2008
bar:Poland color:negotiations from:05/04/1994 till:31/03/2004 shift:(-39,-5) text:Poland
color:membership from:01/04/2004 till:12/12/2008
bar:Romania color:negotiations from:22/06/1995 till:12/12/2006 shift:(-46,-5) text:Romania
color:membership from:01/01/2007 till:12/12/2008
bar:Slovakia color:negotiations from:27/06/1995 till:31/03/2004 shift:(-44,-5) text:Slovakia
color:membership from:01/04/2004 till:12/12/2008
bar:Latvia color:negotiations from:13/10/1995 till:31/03/2004 shift:(-33,-5) text:Latvia
color:membership from:01/04/2004 till:12/12/2008
bar:Estonia color:negotiations from:24/11/1995 till:31/03/2004 shift:(-40,-5) text:Estonia
color:membership from:01/04/2004 till:12/12/2008
bar:Lithuania color:negotiations from:08/12/1995 till:31/03/2004 shift:(-49,-5) text:Lithuania
color:membership from:01/04/2004 till:12/12/2008
bar:Bulgaria color:negotiations from:14/12/1995 till:12/12/2006 shift:(-44,-5) text:Bulgaria
color:membership from:01/01/2007 till:12/12/2008
bar:Czech_Republic color:negotiations from:17/01/1996 till:31/03/2004 shift:(-77,-5) text:Czech Republic
color:membership from:01/04/2004 till:12/12/2008
bar:Slovenia color:negotiations from:10/06/1996 till:31/03/2004 shift:(-44,-5) text:Slovenia
color:membership from:01/04/2004 till:12/12/2008
bar:Croatia color:negotiations from:21/02/2003 till:12/12/2008 shift:(-38,-5) text:Croatia
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bar:Macedonia color:negotiations from:24/03/2004 till:12/12/2008 shift:(-189,-5) text:"former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia"
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Notes
:'A': Under the provisions of the
Antarctic Treaty System, the
territorial claims of
France and the
United Kingdom (
Adélie Land and the
British Antarctic Territory, respectively) have been frozen (along with the claims made by five other states) since
23 June 1961; consequently,
ISO 3166-1 catalogues the whole of
Antarctica as international territory under the code
ATA since 1979. However, European Union treaties (
e.g. the proposed
Treaty establishing a Constitution for Europe in its Annex II
[1]) nonetheless list those territories as associated with the European Union.
:'B': The local
politics of French Polynesia are dominated by the dichotomy of independence vs. continued relations with France;
[1] while independence has officially been recognised as a possibility by
President Jacques Chirac, he and some local politicians remain sceptical.
[1]
:'C': The
Nouméa Accord, which was signed on
5 May 1998 and
put to a referendum in New Caledonia on
8 November 1998 (which succeeded with 72 per cent support), gives
New Caledonia the right to hold an independence
referendum '
between 2014 and 2018'.
[1]
:'D': After '
2010', Mayotte's
General Council (
French: ''Conseil Général'') can propose further evolution of its status, with the likely result of Mayotte becoming the fifth
overseas department (
French: ''département d'outre-mer'') of France.
[1]
:'E': The Netherlands Antilles will be restructured on '
15 December 2008'.
Curaçao and
Sint Maarten will become countries inside the
Kingdom of the Netherlands (together with
Aruba and the
Netherlands ''per se'').
Bonaire,
Saba and
Sint Eustatius will become part of the Netherlands as special municipalities, and probably become part of the European Union shortly thereafter.
[69]
:'F': On
3 October 1990, joined through the process of
German reunification; since then, the reunited has been a single member state.
[1]
:'G': After
World War II (during which
the Faroe Islands were under British occupation) the Faroe Islands had already held
a referendum on independence on
14 September 1946, which turned out 48.7 per cent to 47 per cent in favour. They declared independence on
18 September 1946; however, this declaration was annulled by Denmark on
20 September 1946. As a reaction to the growing self-government and independence movements, Denmark granted the Faroe Islands home-rule on
30 March 1948.
[1] A second independence referendum which had been scheduled for
26 May 2001[1] was postponed when it became clear that the
Danish government would only continue to give financial aid for four more years if the referendum turned out to be in favour of independence.
[1]
:'H': There is strong support for independence among Greenland's population.
[1] However, a referendum initially planned in 2003 to be held before 2006
[1] had been postponed to an unknown date due to an unanticipated
early election. Denmark and Greenland established a joint commission to draft a report on possibilities for Greenland to achieve greater independence, which is set to be submitted in '
September 2007'.
:'I': In Bermuda,
[1] Montserrat
[1] and in the Turks and Caicos Islands,
[1] there is strong support for eventual independence from the United Kingdom; the
British government has stated that it is prepared to back and encourage any of its current
Caribbean overseas territories which wishes to attain independence.
[1] Support for independence is less prevalent in Anguilla and the British Virgin Islands,
[1] and the Cayman Islands have repeatedly stated that they are strongly against becoming independent at the current time.
[1][1]
:As far as the non–Caribbean overseas territories are concerned, the Falkland Islands consider independence a long–term option,
[1] while neither Saint Helena
[1] nor the Pitcairn Islands
[1] are currently considering independence. The British Indian Ocean Territory and South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands have no native population, though the
Chagossians (who
had been removed from the British Indian Ocean Territory in
1966) have been granted the right to return by the
British High Court of Justice on
3 November 2000 and again on
11 May 2006, overturning an
Order-in-Council which was meant to overrule the court's earlier decision.
[1] Furthermore, the United Kingdom assured that it would hand over the British Indian Ocean Territory once it was not needed any longer for military reasons.
[1] The
United States' lease for the
military base on
Diego Garcia expires in '
2016', although there is an option for the extension of the agreement until '
2036'.
:'J': The UK
Sovereign Base Areas of
Akrotiri (''Ακρωτήρι''/''Agrotur'') and Dhekelia (''Δεκέλεια''/''Dikelya'') on Cyprus did not join the European Union when the United Kingdom joined, and
Cyprus' Accession Treaty specifically stated that this would not change with the accession of Cyprus to the European Union. The proposed Annan Plan for Cyprus had included a provision for the United Kingdom to cede 117 km² of the Sovereign Base Areas' 254 km² to the United Cyprus Republic.
[1]
:'K': Officially, the whole island is part of the European Union and
Turkish Cypriots are citizens of the European Union. Since the
Greek Cypriot side rejected the
Annan Plan for the reunification of the southern part and the
Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus in a
referendum on
24 April 2004, however,
European Union law is only applied in the southern part currently. Had the referendum been in favour on both sides of the island, Cyprus, Northern Cyprus and the UN Buffer Zone would have joined the European Union together as the
United Cyprus Republic. Talks on resolving the
Cyprus dispute restarted in July 2006 under
United Nations supervision;
[1][1] Cypriot reunification is supported by the European Union.
[1]
:'L': As the result of a
naming dispute with Greece, the Republic of Macedonia is officially referred to as the 'former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia' ('FYROM') by the European Union.
[1] Negotiations on the issue are still underway under United Nations supervision, and were expected to gain speed after the
Macedonian parliamentary election was held on
5 July 2006.
[1][1]
:'M': Including
Kosovo under
United Nations Security Council Resolution 1244 of
10 June 1999.
[1] The future status of Kosovo is currently being negotiated between the
Serbs and the
Kosovar Albanians in talks held in
Vienna under the supervision of the United Nations, with the Kosovar Albanians demanding full
independence and the Serbs rejecting anything more than complete
autonomy.
[1] A final decision by the
United Nations Security Council is expected '
in March 2007', now that the
Serbian parliamentary election has been held on
21 January 2007.
[1]
References
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69. Agreement on division of Netherlands Antilles
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