EU Enlargement - Next Steps
27 EU Member States in 2007
On January 1, 2007 Bulgaria and Romania joined the European Union. This completes the fifth round of EU enlargement. At the European Council of December 14-15, the heads of states and governments reaffirmed the EU's commitment towards integrating the countries of the Western Balkans, including Croatia and Turkey with which the EU has already started accession negotiations. Â
The European Union and Turkey have agreed the terms of EU membership talks at the European Council on December 16-17, 2004 . On October 3, 2005, Accession negotiations between Turkey and the EU have been officially opened on October 3, 2005. In December 2006, EU heads of state and government endorsed the continuation of negotiations with Turkey, although at a slower pace, reflecting the non-resolved difficulties between the EU and Turkey over Cyprus. Click here for more information on the state of enlargement negotiations with Turkey. |
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  The European Union and Croatia opened accession negotiations on October 3, 2005. After a screening-process the EU and Croatia are currently in the process of negotiating the first chapters (out of a total of 35) of the EU acquis. The EU will closely monitor Croatia's progress in the alignment with and the implementation of the acquis in these chapters throughout the negotiations. For more information on the status of EU-Croatia accession negotiations click here. |
Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia (FYROM)
FYROM
In December 2005 the European Council decided to grant candidate status to the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia. Accession negotiations will be opened once the country has implemented the priories in the European Partnership and reached a sufficient degree of compliance with the EU membership criteria. For more information click here.
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The Western Balkans- Countries next in line
 In December 2006, EU reaffirmed that the future of the Western Balkans lies in the European Union while underlining that "each country's progress towards the European Union depends on its individual efforts to comply with the Copenhagen critera and the conditionality of the Stabilisation and Association Process". The EU agreed that each country's track-record in implementing its obligations under the Stabilisation and Association Agreements, including trade related provisions, is an essential element for the EU to consider membership applications.
For further information go to: http://www.seerecon.org/
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