Microstates and the European Union facts for kids
Liechtenstein
San Marino
Currently, all of the European microstates have some form of relations with the European Union (EU).
Andorra, Liechtenstein, Monaco, San Marino, and the Vatican City remain outside the Union. Andorra is, by population, the largest of the five microstates with around 85,500 citizens according to a 2022 estimate. Two other small countries, Luxembourg and Malta, are full members of the EU and both inhabited by populations over 600,000 and over 500,000 respectively.
Status of relations
Andorra, Monaco, San Marino, and the Vatican City use the euro through monetary agreements with the EU, and have been granted the right to issue a limited number of euro coins. They were allowed to do so as they had used or been tied to the old eurozone currencies. Liechtenstein, on the other hand, uses the Swiss franc.
Liechtenstein is a full member in its own right of the Schengen Agreement, European Free Trade Association (EFTA) and Dublin Regulation on asylum and has signed an agreement to participate in the Prüm Decisions, while Monaco has an open border with France and Schengen laws are administered as if it were a part of France. San Marino and the Vatican City, both enclaves within Italy, have open borders with Italy and are de facto part of the Schengen Area. No systematic border checks are conducted between Andorra and the Schengen Area. None of them have any airport, but all have heliports. Monaco has the only seaport; the others are landlocked. Arrival from outside the Schengen Area is allowed in Monaco, but not in San Marino and the Vatican City as they have no border controls.
Monaco is a part of the EU customs territory through an agreement with France, and is administered as part of France. San Marino and Andorra are in a customs union with the bloc. Liechtenstein, as a member of the EEA, is within the European Single Market and applies certain EU laws. All of the microstates are also part of other organisations such as the Council of Europe (except Vatican City) and the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe.
Iceland and Liechtenstein are members of the European Economic Area (EEA) through the EFTA. San Marino had considered joining the EEA in the past, and held a referendum on submitting an application for EU membership, which was approved by its electorate; however, not enough votes were cast for the result to be considered valid. Iceland was previously an official candidate for accession to the European Union. Had Iceland acceded to the Union, it would have become the EU's smallest state measured by population, but twelfth largest by geographical size. The Icelandic government withdrew its application for membership in 2015.
See also
In Spanish: Relaciones Unión Europea-micro-Estados europeos para niños
- European microstates
- Foreign relations of the European Union
- Potential enlargement of the European Union
- Special member state territories and the European Union
