Enlargement of The European Union - Future Enlargement

Future Enlargement

Article 49 of the Maastricht Treaty (as amended) says that any European state that respects the "principles of liberty, democracy, respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms, and the rule of law", may apply to join the Union. The Copenhagen European Council set out the conditions for EU membership in June 1993 in the so-called Copenhagen criteria (see Criteria and process above for details). The Western Balkan states had to sign Stabilisation and Association Agreements before either applying for membership and all except Kosovo have done so.

Croatia is an acceding country and is expected to become the 28th member of the EU on 1 July 2013. It signed its accession agreement on 9 December 2011. Iceland, Macedonia, Montenegro, Serbia and Turkey are all official candidates. Albania applied for membership on April 2009 but has not yet been recognised as an official candidate. Bosnia and Herzegovina has concluded an association agreement and is preparing an application for EU membership. Both are classified as potential candidates for membership by the EU. The Western Balkans have been prioritised for membership since emerging from war during the breakup of Yugoslavia; Turkey has been seeking membership since the 1980s and Iceland has lodged its application since suffering economic collapse in 2008.

The EU may also acquire new outermost regions in 2015 due to the integration of three Caribbean islands into the Netherlands following the dissolution of the Netherlands Antilles in 2010.