Enlargement of the European Union facts for kids

This animation shows how the European Union (and its earlier versions) grew over time by adding new countries.

The European Union (EU) has grown many times throughout its history as new countries have joined. To become a member, a country needs to meet certain economic and political rules called the Copenhagen criteria. These rules were set in Copenhagen in 1993. They say a country must have a strong, democratic government that follows the law and respects people's rights. Also, every current EU country and the European Parliament must agree for a new country to join. This process of growing the EU is sometimes called European integration. This term also means countries working more closely together and making their laws similar.

The EU started as the European Economic Community in 1958 with six founding countries, known as the Inner Six. This happened when the Treaty of Rome began. Since then, the EU has grown to twenty-seven countries. The newest member is Croatia, which joined in July 2013. The EU's land area also grew when Mayotte joined in 2014. Campione d'Italia joined the EU Customs Union in 2020. The EU has also become smaller a few times. Algeria left in 1962 when it became independent. Greenland left in 1985, and the United Kingdom left in 2020 (this was called Brexit).

Talks about joining the EU are currently happening with several countries: Montenegro (since 2012), Serbia (since 2014), Albania (since 2020), North Macedonia (since 2020), Moldova (since 2024), and Ukraine (since 2024). Talks with Turkey started in 2005 but have mostly stopped since 2016. This is because Turkey has had problems with democracy and human rights.

Bosnia and Herzegovina and Georgia were officially named "candidate countries" in December 2022 and December 2023. However, they need to make more changes before they can start official membership talks. Kosovo applied to join in December 2022. But first, all EU countries in the Council need to agree to look at its application. The EU is still divided on Kosovo, as five member countries do not recognize its independence declared in 2008.

What Countries Need to Join (Criteria)

The EU treaties say that any European country can join if it respects certain values. These values include "respect for human dignity, freedom, democracy, equality, the rule of law, and respect for human rights." This also includes protecting the rights of minority groups. These rules are based on the 1993 "Copenhagen criteria." They were created when many countries from the former Eastern Bloc wanted to join.

The Copenhagen criteria state that a country wanting to join must:

• Have stable government systems that ensure democracy.
• Follow the rule of law and respect human rights.
• Protect minorities.
• Have a working market economy.
• Be able to handle competition within the EU.
• Be ready to take on all the duties of being an EU member. This includes joining the EU's political, economic, and money union.

In 1995, the EU added another rule. Countries must also change their government systems to fit EU laws. It's important that EU laws are not just written into a country's laws but also put into practice properly. This means having the right government and court systems to make sure the laws work.

Finally, all future members must change their laws to match the huge collection of EU laws. This collection is called the acquis communautaire.

How Countries Join (Process)

The European Commission plays a big role in deciding which countries can join the EU.

Today, joining the EU involves several official steps. These steps are mostly managed by the European Commission. This includes the Enlargement Commissioner and the DG Enlargement. However, the actual talks happen between the EU member countries and the country wanting to join.

Before a country even applies, it usually signs an association agreement. This agreement helps the country get ready to become a candidate and eventually a member. Many countries aren't ready to start talks when they first apply. So, they need many years to prepare. An association agreement helps them with this first step.

For countries in the Western Balkans, there's a special process called the Stabilisation and Association Process. This helps with their unique situations.

When a country officially applies to join, the Council asks the Commission for its opinion. The Commission checks if the country is ready to start talks. The Council can then agree or disagree with the Commission's opinion. The Council has only disagreed once, when the Commission advised against talks with Greece.

If the Council agrees to start talks, a "screening process" begins. The Commission and the candidate country compare their laws with EU laws to see what differences there are. Then, the Council suggests opening talks on different "chapters" of law. These are areas where they feel there's enough agreement to have good discussions. The talks are usually about the candidate country showing the EU that its laws and government can handle EU rules. Often, they agree on timelines for when the country must fully put the Acquis Communautaire (EU rules and standards) into practice.

This chart compares the population and economic strength (GDP per person) of EU countries with other European countries in 2010.

A chapter is "closed" when both sides agree that the rules have been put into practice enough. However, a chapter can be reopened if the Commission thinks the country is no longer following the rules.

To check how well countries are preparing to join, the European Commission sends yearly reports to the European Council. These reports help the Council decide whether to continue talks or start them with other countries.

Once all the talks are finished, an Accession Treaty is signed. This treaty must then be approved by all current EU countries, EU institutions, and the candidate country. After this, the country officially joins the EU on the date written in the treaty.

The whole process, from applying to becoming a member, usually takes about ten years. Some countries, like Sweden, Finland, and Austria, joined faster, in just a few years. But for others, like Turkey, it has taken much longer. Turkey first applied for an association agreement in the 1950s and is still in talks.

In 2019, France stopped talks with Albania and North Macedonia. France said there were problems with the current way the EU expands. In November 2019, France suggested a new seven-step plan for joining. This new plan suggests that countries could join different EU programs, like Erasmus or the Customs Union, as they get closer to full membership.

Estonia's Journey to Joining the EU

Here's an example of how a country joins the EU, using Estonia's path. Estonia became independent from the Soviet Union in November 1991. The EU recognized its independence that same month. Estonia then joined the EU in May 2004. How easy it is for a country to join depends on many things. These include how much it already works with the EU, its economy, its government, any political issues with the EU, and how many EU laws it needs to adopt. This example also shows steps Estonia took after becoming a member.

Challenges and Future of Enlargement

Enlargement has been one of the EU's most successful foreign policies. However, it has also faced a lot of disagreement from the beginning. For example, French President Charles de Gaulle was against Britain joining. Later, French President François Mitterrand didn't want Greece, Spain, and Portugal to join. He worried that these former dictatorships weren't ready and that their joining would make the EU just a free-trade area.

The first countries joined mainly for economic reasons. The second group joined more for political reasons. Countries in southern Europe had just become democracies and wanted to make sure their new systems were strong by joining the EU. The EU also wanted to make sure these southern neighbors were stable and allied with NATO. These two main reasons—economic benefits and political safety—have driven EU enlargement ever since. After many countries joined in 2004, public opinion in Europe became less supportive of further expansion.

It's also clear that the EU can't keep expanding forever. Former Commission President Romano Prodi suggested giving neighboring countries "everything but institutions." This would allow them to work closely with the EU without putting too much pressure on the EU's own structure. France and Germany have especially pushed for this idea, suggesting a "privileged partnership" for Turkey instead of full membership. This is because Turkey's membership has faced a lot of opposition due to cultural and practical reasons.

How the EU Grew (Historical Enlargements)

Early Days and First Expansions

The European Coal and Steel Community (ECSC) was first suggested by Robert Schuman in 1950. It brought together the coal and steel industries of France and West Germany. Five other countries—Belgium, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, and Italy—joined them. These six countries, called the 'Inner Six', signed the Treaty of Paris in 1952. They later signed the Treaties of Rome to create two more communities. These became the European Communities when their leaders merged in 1967.

In 1962, Spain, which was ruled by the dictator Francisco Franco, tried to join the European Communities. But all the member countries rejected this in 1964. Spain was not a democracy at the time, so it couldn't join.

The Community also lost some land as colonies became independent. Algeria, which was part of France, had a special link with the Community. But when Algeria became independent on July 5, 1962, it left the Community. There were no more efforts to expand until the early 1970s.

The First Big Expansion (1973)

Interactive map of the enlargement and evolution of the European Union, excluding Greenland and Algeria

The United Kingdom had refused to be a founding member. But after the Suez crisis, it changed its mind and applied to join. Other EEC members also thought British membership would be good. However, French President Charles de Gaulle stopped Britain from joining.

Once de Gaulle left office, the door to enlargement opened again. The EEC's economy had slowed down, and British membership was seen as a way to make the community stronger. After a long meeting between British Prime Minister Edward Heath and French President Georges Pompidou, Britain's third application was successful. As part of the deal, France agreed to let the EEC have its own money. This was because Britain's small farming sector meant it would contribute a lot to the EEC budget, which was mostly for farming. Denmark, Ireland, and Norway applied to join with the UK. These countries were so closely linked to the UK's economy that they felt they needed to join if the UK did. However, the people of Norway voted against joining in a national vote. So, Norway did not join on January 1, 1973, with the others. Gibraltar joined the Community with the United Kingdom.

Southern European Expansions (1980s)

The next expansions happened for different reasons. In the 1970s, Greece, Spain, and Portugal became democracies after being ruled by dictators. These countries wanted to make their new democratic systems stronger by joining the EEC. The EEC also wanted to make sure these countries were stable and friendly to its southern borders. However, François Mitterrand at first didn't want them to join. He worried they weren't ready and that it would make the community weaker.

Greece joined the EEC in 1981. Spain and Portugal followed in 1986.

However, in 1985, a territory voted to leave the Community for the first time. Greenland was given more self-rule by Denmark. Greenland then used its new powers to vote to leave the Community.

Morocco and Turkey applied to join in 1987. Morocco's application was turned down because it was not considered a European country. Turkey's application was accepted as possible, based on an agreement from 1963. But the Commission's opinion on Turkey becoming a candidate was negative at the time. Turkey later became a candidate in 1999 and started full membership talks in 2005. These talks were still ongoing as of 2021.

After the Cold War (1990s)

The fall of the Iron Curtain (like the Berlin Wall) made it possible for countries in Eastern Europe to join the EU.

After the 1970s, Europe faced economic problems. This led leaders to create the Single European Act, which aimed to create a single market by 1992. Because of this, countries in the EFTA found it harder to sell their goods to the EEC. Businesses wanted to move inside the new single market, making things worse for EFTA. EFTA countries started talking about closer ties with the EEC, even though it wasn't popular at home.

Austria, Finland, and Sweden were neutral during the Cold War. Joining an organization that was developing a common foreign and security policy would not fit with their neutrality. But when the Cold War ended in 1989, this problem disappeared. The desire to join the EU grew stronger. On October 3, 1990, East and West Germany reunited. This brought East Germany into the Community without adding a new member country.

The Community later became the European Union in 1993 with the Maastricht Treaty. This treaty set rules for new countries to join, so their readiness could be checked. The Copenhagen criteria (from 1993) said that a country must be a democracy, have a free market, and be willing to adopt all the EU laws already in place. Also in 1993, the European Economic Area was created with EFTA countries, except Switzerland. Most of these new EEA countries wanted full EU membership. This was because the EEA didn't fully meet the needs of their export-focused businesses. The EU had preferred these countries to join through the EEA rather than full membership. This was because the EEC wanted to focus on creating a single currency (euro) and didn't want another round of enlargement to take up their time. However, after businesses and Switzerland rejected the EEA, the EU agreed to full membership. This was more easily accepted with the idea of poorer countries wanting to join. Contributions from richer countries would help balance the EU budget. On January 1, 1995, Austria, Finland, and Sweden joined the EU. This was the fourth expansion. The people of Norway again voted against joining.

Eastern Enlargement (2000s)

EU enlargements, 2004–2013:      EU before 2004      Joined the EU on May 1, 2004      Joined the EU on January 1, 2007      Joined the EU on July 1, 2013

In the late 1980s, before the dissolution of the Soviet Union, Mikhail Gorbachev announced that the Soviet Union would no longer interfere in other countries' affairs. This meant countries in Central and Eastern Europe were free from Soviet control. These countries wanted to make their democracies strong by joining Western international groups, including the EU. This would help ensure they wouldn't fall back under Russian influence. The EU and NATO offered this guarantee. The EU was also seen as key to helping these countries' economies succeed. However, the EU was not quick to accept these countries' applications. The fall of communism happened suddenly and was not expected. The EU was already dealing with the reunification of Germany, which added 17 million poorer people. While trying to keep its single currency project on track, the EU was still suggesting EFTA countries join the EEA instead of becoming full members.

Countries in Central and Eastern Europe kept pushing. Eventually, the problems were solved. The US also encouraged the EU to offer membership as a temporary guarantee. It worried about expanding NATO too quickly and upsetting Russia. Although the EU tried to limit the number of members, and with encouragement from the US, it started talks with ten countries. A change of mind by Cyprus and Malta also helped balance the entry of many poorer countries from Central and Eastern Europe.

In the end, eight Central and Eastern European countries (the Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Slovakia, and Slovenia), plus two Mediterranean countries (Malta and Cyprus), joined on May 1, 2004. This was the largest single expansion in terms of people and number of countries, though not in terms of economic size. Some older member countries worried about these less developed countries joining. Some countries, like the UK, immediately opened their job markets to the new members. Most others put temporary limits on citizens from these new countries working in their countries. The movement of some workers from the new countries to the west after the expansion led to some stereotypes in the media, like the "Polish plumber." However, this movement generally helped the economies involved. The EU often called this expansion an "historical opportunity" and "morally necessary." This showed the EU's desire to accept these countries, even if they were less developed than Western European countries.

After this, Romania and Bulgaria, which the Commission felt weren't fully ready to join in 2004, joined on January 1, 2007. Like the countries that joined in 2004, their citizens faced some limits on working rights in some older EU countries until 2014.

Research on how people felt about this integration showed different views. Even skeptical citizens didn't rule out future expansions. The years after these EU accessions led to many discussions between leaders, governments, and European citizens about how to develop the EU constructively.

Western Balkans Expansions (2010s)

In 2003, the European Council meeting in Thessaloniki made integrating the Western Balkans a top priority for EU expansion. The EU's relationship with the Western Balkans countries was moved to the "Enlargement" policy section in 2005. Countries not yet recognized as candidates are called "potential candidate countries." This move was because of progress in the Stabilisation and Association process.

Croatia joined on July 1, 2013. This happened after all other EU countries approved the 2011 Accession Treaty. Albania and several countries that used to be part of Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia have all made joining the EU a goal of their foreign policy.

Future Expansions (Potential Enlargements)

Current Plans for Enlargement

     Current EU members      Candidate countries currently in talks      Candidate countries      Applicant / Potential candidate countries      Candidate with talks stopped

Article 49 of the Maastricht Treaty says that any European country that respects "liberty, democracy, human rights, and the rule of law" can apply to join the EU. The European Council set the rules for EU membership in June 1993, known as the Copenhagen criteria (see above for details). Countries in the Western Balkans had to sign Stabilisation and Association Agreements (SAAs) before applying to join.

Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Georgia, Moldova, Montenegro, North Macedonia, Serbia, and Ukraine are all officially recognized as candidate countries and are in talks to join. Talks with candidate Turkey have mostly stopped. Kosovo has applied for EU membership and is seen as a potential candidate by the EU.

Turkey applied for membership in 1987. The Western Balkans have been a priority for membership since wars ended there in the early 1990s.

In July 2014, President of the European Commission Jean-Claude Juncker said the EU had no plans to expand in the next five years. Juncker later described Montenegro and Serbia as leading candidates and thought they might join by 2025. The European Council agreed to start talks with North Macedonia and Albania on March 26, 2020. They could join after 2025. Turkey is not expected to join anytime soon.

On February 6, 2018, the European Commission released its expansion plan for the six Western Balkan countries. The plan suggests that all six could become EU members after 2025. In May 2018, Bulgaria, which was leading the Council of the European Union at the time, hosted a meeting on the Western Balkans. This meeting aimed to help these six countries join, including better regional security and connections.

It was noted that the meeting referred to them as "partners" instead of "states." This is because Kosovo is only partly recognized as a state by other countries. As of 2018, Kosovo was not recognized by Serbia (another applicant) and by five current EU members: Spain, Slovakia, Cyprus, Romania, and Greece. The European Commission is careful about this issue. Federica Mogherini, a high EU official, said that all six partners have a clear path to EU integration. Each will move at its own speed and under different conditions, but the direction is clear.

During the Russian invasion of Ukraine in 2022, the three former Soviet republics of Ukraine, Moldova, and Georgia applied to join the EU. The European Parliament quickly voted to support Ukraine's request to become an EU candidate. On June 17, 2022, the European Commission suggested that Ukraine and Moldova become candidates. It also said Georgia could be a potential candidate but needed to meet certain conditions. These conditions included investing more in education and infrastructure and making reforms in elections, judicial independence, crime, corruption, and dealing with powerful wealthy individuals. The European Council approved these suggestions at a meeting on June 23.

Kosovo applied for membership on December 14, 2022. On December 15, Bosnia and Herzegovina was granted candidate status.

On December 14, 2023, the European Council granted candidate status to Georgia. It also agreed to open membership talks with Ukraine and Moldova. It announced that talks with Bosnia and Herzegovina would be looked at again once certain conditions were met, with an update expected in March 2024.

On July 9, 2024, the European Union stopped Georgia's path to joining. This happened after Georgia's government passed a new "foreign influence" law. Some people fear this law might limit democratic freedoms.

Other Countries That Might Join

Countries that could join the European Union      Current members      Candidate countries      Applicant / potential candidate countries      Membership possible

On March 5, 2024, Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan said that Armenia would apply to become an EU candidate by Autumn 2024. On March 12, 2024, the European Parliament passed a resolution. It confirmed that Armenia meets the requirements of Article 49 of the Maastricht Treaty, meaning the country can apply for EU membership.

Countries That Stopped Trying to Join

Several countries have applied to join the EU in the past but are no longer trying:

• Norway finished membership talks twice, in 1972 and 1994. But both times, the people of Norway voted against joining in a national vote. Its application remains on hold.
• Switzerland applied to join in 1992 but later put its application on hold. It officially withdrew it in 2016.
• Iceland applied in 2009 after its economy collapsed. But it officially withdrew its application in 2013 after a new government was elected.

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See also

In Spanish: Historia de la membresía de la Unión Europea para niños