EU Candidates and Potential Candidates
The EU encompasses most of Europe but it is expected to admit new states in the future. As early as 1 July 2013, the 27 member states are scheduled to be joined by the 28th member – Croatia, while five more countries are officially recognised as candidates with two more as potential candidates. Due to the economic crisis, the enlargement of the EU is no longer a priority and several member states are suggesting that the enlargement should be postponed for a while for the EU to consolidate. The majority, however, urge the European leaders not to close the doors to the candidate states that seek to join the Union.
Currently, five states are officially recognised as candidates. They include:
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Turkey. The country made an application to join the EU as early as 1987 and is recognised as candidate since 1999. The EU-Turkish negotiations for the accession of Turkey to the EU started in 2005. But in the best possible scenario, the negotiations aren’t expected to be completed until 2015. However, it remains uncertain whether the country will ever be admitted to the EU due to differences in views of how far the EU should expand. There also seem to be some reservations due to Turkey’s geographic location and cultural differences.
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Iceland. It formally applied for membership in the EU in 2009 and was recognised as candidate one year later. But it is important to mention that Iceland was integrated greatly into the EU market long before it applied for membership. The country is also a part of the Schengen Area and is currently in the negotiation process.
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Montenegro. The country applied for membership to the EU in 2008 and received the status of candidate in 2010. It started negotiations in 2012. Montenegro uses the euro as its currency but it is not in the eurozone.
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Macedonia. It is candidate for accession to the EU since 2005 but the negotiations haven’t started yet due to a dispute with the neighbouring Greece about the country’s name. Disputes also exist with Bulgaria over the conflicting views of 19th and 20th century history, and ethnicity of the two nations.
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Serbia. The country formally applied for accession to the EU in 2009 and was officially recognised as candidate in 2011. Serbia is expected to enter the negotiation process in the near future.
Countries that are considered as potential candidates for the accession to the EU include:
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Albania. The country applied for the membership in the EU in 2009 but it still hasn’t been granted the status candidate because it doesn’t meet all the criteria. The most recent report by the Council of the European Union said if the country will hold fair and democratic elections in 2013 and implement the EU recommendations, the Council will recommend the candidate status.
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Bosnia and Herzegovina. The country has not yet applied for the accession to the EU and is considered a potential candidate.