Bulgaria, Cyprus, the Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Malta, Poland, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, and Turkey are now candidates for EU membership. Negotiations are now underway in virtually all areas of the acquis. Progress in negotiations depends on each applicant's ability to implement the acquis. This means that, in principle, a country which began negotiations in 2000 could catch up and overtake a country which began in 1998. The exact time of accession will depend upon the progress made by the applicants and is also a matter for the negotiations.
Turkey is in a different position.
Turkey is a candidate for EU membership. But, unlike other applicants, Turkey does not meet the Copenhagen political criteria for membership. This is a prerequisite for opening negotiations. The negotiating process will lead to Accession Treaties, setting out the details of each country's accession. Trading relations between the EU and the majority of the candidates are currently governed by 'Europe Agreements'.