Potential enlargement of the European Union

Subject : International Relations

Section: Groupings

Concept :

There are eight recognised candidates for membership of the European Union: Turkey (since 1999), North Macedonia (2005), Montenegro (2010), Serbia (2012), Albania (2014), Moldova (2022), Ukraine (2022), and Bosnia and Herzegovina (2022).
Kosovo (whose independence is not recognised by five EU member states) and Georgia formally submitted applications for membership in 2022 and are considered potential candidates by the European Union.
Montenegro and Serbia, the most advanced candidates, are expected to join earlier than the others.
Due to multiple factors, talks with Turkey are at an effective standstill.
Any country that satisfies the conditions for membership can apply for EU membership.

What is the Copenhagen Criteria?

The Copenhagen Criteria refers to the conditions that candidate countries must meet before they can be part of the European Union.
The criteria had been established in 1993 by the Copenhagen European Council, and later strengthened in 1995 by the Madrid European Council.
Copenhagen Criteria also refer to the rules defined by the European Council in 1993 in Denmark, Copenhagen, which determines whether a country is qualified to join the European Union.
In order to become a member of the EU, the three criteria that must be achieved are:
- Stability of institutions guaranteeing democracy, the rule of law, human rights and respect for and protection of minorities.
- The existence of a functioning market economy as well as the capacity to cope with competitive pressure and market forces within the union.
- The ability to take on the obligations of membership including adherence to the aims of political, economic & monetary union.

Criteria for Membership

The European community always monitors the progress of candidate states that have applied for the EU accession.
Three documents are used to define the European Union membership criteria. These include:
- Article 49 of the 1992 Maastricht Treaty
- The 1993 declaration the European Council in Copenhagen (includes political, legislative, and economic policies)
- Framework for negotiations with specific conditions for every candidate country.

Candidate country status

Candidate country status is conferred by the European Council on the basis of an opinion from the European Commission, drawn up following an application for membership of the European Union (EU) by the country concerned.
Candidate country status does not give an automatic a right to join the EU.
The Commission scrutinises the application in the light of the accession criteria (Copenhagen criteria), while the accession process starts with the European Council decision to open accession negotiations.
Depending on their circumstances, a candidate country may be required to institute a reform process to bring their legislation in line with the EU acquis and to strengthen their infrastructure and administration if necessary.
The accession process is based on the pre-accession strategy, which provides instruments such as financial aid.
Accession and membership of the EU depends on the progress made by the candidate country, which is regularly assessed and monitored by the Commission.