EU enlargement: The next seven - BBC News BBC News EU enlargement: The next seven 2 September 2014 Close share panel Seven countries, as well as Kosovo, are waiting in the wings to join the European Union. Kosovo's independence is not recognised by all EU countries, but the EU nevertheless views it as a potential candidate for membership. Croatia and Turkey started accession talks on 3 October 2005. Croatia joined on 1 July 2013. Turkey could complete negotiations in 10-15 years, but progress has been very slow, as the EU is divided over whether Turkey should join at all. The other Balkan countries have been told they can join the EU one day, if they meet the criteria . These include democracy, the rule of law, a market economy and adherence to the EU's goals of political and economic union. Applied for full membership: April 2009 Confirmed as candidate: June 2014 Albania is not expected to join the EU until 2020 at the earliest. It got candidate status in June 2014 - recognition of its progress in reforming institutions to meet EU standards.

But the EU urged Albania to do more to tackle corruption and organised crime, especially crime relating to immigration and human trafficking, and drugs. Since 15 December 2010 Albanians with biometric passports have been able to travel visa-free to the Schengen zone, which includes most EU countries. Border controls are minimal under the Schengen accord, but the EU will keep a close watch on the flow of visitors from the Western Balkans. The EU and Albania concluded a Stabilisation and Association Agreement (SAA), seen as the first step towards membership, in June 2006. The negotiations took three-and-a-half years - three times longer than they took in Croatia's and Macedonia's case. BOSNIA-HERCEGOVINA Bosnia-Hercegovina has not yet formally applied for EU membership. More than a decade after the 1992-5 war, it signed a Stabilisation and Association Agreement (SAA) with the EU in June 2008. The EU was satisfied with progress in four key areas - police reform, co-operation with the international war crimes tribunal, public broadcasting and public administration reform.

Visa-free travel to the Schengen zone began in mid-December 2010 for Bosnians with biometric passports. But in February 2014 public grievances with local politicians and the country's economic stagnation exploded, with attacks on government buildings. The EU maintains a peacekeeping force and a police mission in Bosnia-Hercegovina, where most Serbs live in the autonomous Republika Srpska. The Bosniak-Croat federation and Republika Srpska together form Bosnia-Hercegovina. Bosnia's ethnic quarrels remain a worry for the EU, along with corruption and organised crime. The Commission says Bosnia is still plagued by an "unstable political climate" and ethnic divisions. In December 2011 Bosnia's Muslim, Croat and Serb leaders agreed on the formation of a central government, ending 14 months of political deadlock. The European Court of Human Rights has ruled that Bosnia's electoral laws discriminate against Jews and Roma (Gypsies), because only Bosniaks, Croats and Serbs are allowed to run for high office.

Applied for full membership: February 2003 Negotiations started: October 2005 Joined EU: July 2013 Croatia is the second ex-Yugoslav country after Slovenia to join. It is also the first new EU member state since Bulgaria and Romania joined in 2007. Croatia's accession was widely seen as a strong signal of EU commitment to a region that was ravaged by war in the 1990s. Some see it as a triumph for EU "soft power", salvaging the EU's reputation after Europe's failure to prevent atrocities in the Balkan wars. Even after they had joined in 2007 Bulgaria and Romania fell short of EU standards, notably in their efforts to root out corruption and political interference. So the requirements for Croatia were particularly strict. The welcome for Croatia was somewhat muted, as surveys suggested that "enlargement fatigue" and anxiety about migrant workers were widespread in Europe. Judicial reform was among the toughest of the 33 negotiating areas, or "chapters". EU Justice Commissioner Viviane Reding said that "in one year they have completely reformed their judiciary system and have made it irreversible".

The highest-profile target in Croatia's crackdown on corruption was former Prime Minister Ivo Sanader. A Croatian court sentenced him to 10 years in prison for taking bribes, in November 2012. He had been arrested in Austria and extradited to Croatia. He denied wrongdoing. He was convicted of taking millions of dollars in bribes from a Hungarian energy company and an Austrian bank. Prime Minister Jadranka Kosor replaced four ministers in the government she inherited from Mr Sanader. A European Commission report in March 2011 said Croatia must make appointments of judges and state prosecutors more transparent, clear court backlogs, pursue high-level corruption investigations more thoroughly and do more to help disadvantaged minorities. A border dispute with neighbouring Slovenia - an EU member - held up Croatia's accession talks until early September 2009, when Slovenia agreed to lift its veto over the talks. Back in 2005 accession talks were delayed by seven months as Croatia struggled to convince the EU it was doing its best to find war crimes suspect Gen Ante Gotovina. He was arrested in the Canary Islands in December 2005.

On 15 April 2011 the war crimes tribunal in The Hague sentenced Gen Gotovina and another wartime Croat general, Mladen Markac, to 24 and 18 years in jail, respectively. They were found guilty of atrocities against Serbs in 1995. There was widespread anger in Croatia over the sentences. But on 16 November 2012 both generals were released after appeals judges overturned their sentences. They were greeted as heroes on their return to Zagreb. Applied for full membership: July 2009 Negotiations started: July 2010 The EU has opened accession talks with Iceland. In October 2012 the EU Commission reported that 14 of the 33 areas of negotiation - called "chapters" - had been opened. Of those, eight have been provisionally closed - in other words, Iceland has met the criteria. But there is now a big question mark over Iceland's bid to join. A new centre-right coalition government took office in May 2013 and immediately announced that a referendum would be held on EU membership before any further accession negotiations.

Iceland's independence from continental Europe has provided fertile ground for Eurosceptics, and recent opinion polls suggest a strong "no" camp. The North Atlantic island, home to just 320,000 people, will not join unless Icelanders support it in a referendum. Iceland is in dispute with the EU over mackerel fishing. Reykjavik objects to the EU and Norway taking more than 90% of the total allowable catch recommended by scientists. Iceland increased its 2011 quota unilaterally by nearly 17,000 tonnes. Another sensitive area is financial reform, with Iceland still reeling from the collapse of its major banks in 2008. In two referendums Icelanders have rejected compensation deals struck by their government with the UK and the Netherlands over savings lost by investors in the collapsed Icesave online bank. The UK and Dutch governments want Iceland to reimburse the estimated 4bn euros (£3.4bn; $5.3bn) that they paid as compensation to Icesave investors. According to Iceland's President, Olafur Ragnar Grimsson, assets from the collapsed bank Landsbanki will cover what is owed.

The European Commission says Iceland is already deeply integrated with the EU - it applies about two-thirds of EU laws - so it has less distance to cover than other applicants. But the EU is not offering any "shortcut". Iceland is in the Schengen zone, meaning its people enjoy passport-free travel to many European countries. Iceland also applies many of the EU's single market rules. The Icelandic krona has plummeted in value since the financial crash, but many Icelanders may still prefer to keep it. The fallout from Europe's debt crisis means the euro has lost some of its lustre. Some Icelanders fear the impact of EU regulations on their traditional fisheries and whaling. Icelandic membership would give the EU a more significant role in the Arctic - a region rich in untapped energy and mineral resources. Iceland country profile KOSOVO In the Balkans the breakaway territory of Kosovo is last in the queue to join the EU because the international community remains split over its 2008 declaration of independence. The ethnic Albanian majority in Kosovo has been striving for international recognition since the 1999 conflict, in which Serb forces, accused of atrocities against civilians, pulled out after heavy Nato bombing.

Many countries have recognised Kosovo. But Serbia is among those that do not - a group that includes Russia, China and five of the 27 EU member states - Spain, Greece, Romania, Slovakia and Cyprus. For more than a decade the hostility between Belgrade and the Kosovan authorities in Pristina has held up consideration of a Kosovan EU bid. Belgrade supports ethnic Serbs in northern Kosovo - about 50,000 people - who refuse to be governed by Pristina. But a landmark Serbia-Kosovo deal, brokered by the EU on 19 April 2013 after months of arduous negotiations, paves the way for both Serbia and Kosovo to make progress towards EU accession. Both sides pledged that they would not try to block each other's EU bid. The deal grants a high degree of autonomy to the Serb-majority areas in Kosovo, and allows them their own ethnic Serb police chief and ethnic Serb appeal court. EU governments will now open talks with Kosovo aimed at reaching a Stabilisation and Association Agreement - a first step towards EU membership. The Commission also proposed allowing Kosovo to participate in 22 EU programmes.

In a report the Commission praised Pristina's co-operation with the EU law-and-order mission in Kosovo, called Eulex. It highlighted the smashing of a smuggling ring and other joint investigations into organised crime and corruption. The report calls for further efforts to tackle human trafficking in Kosovo, and the gangs that smuggle drugs and illegal weapons. Protection of minority rights and freedom of speech are also significant challenges that Kosovo must meet on the path to EU membership, the Commission says. Applied for full membership: March 2004 Confirmed as candidate: December 2005 The European Commission has recommended that the EU open membership talks with Macedonia. It says the former Yugoslav republic has made "convincing progress" in police reform, tackling corruption and bolstering human rights. Since 19 December 2009 Macedonians have not needed visas to visit most EU member states - those in the Schengen zone. Hopes that accession talks would open in 2008 suffered a blow from election violence in June and a subsequent boycott of parliament by ethnic Albanian opposition parties. But the June 2011 parliamentary elections were "transparent and well-administered", EU governments said.

A bitter dispute with Greece over Macedonia's name continues to hamper the country's bids to join the EU and Nato. Macedonia was admitted to the United Nations in 1993 using the temporary name of the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia (Fyrom). Greece argues that the name "Macedonia" cannot be monopolised by one country, and that doing so implies a territorial claim over the northern Greek region of the same name. In a November 2008 interview, Macedonian Foreign Minister Antonio Milososki said "it is important that 125 countries worldwide have recognised Macedonia's constitutional name," and added: "we remain firm on our stance that only the Republic of Greece has a problem with Macedonia's constitutional name". Applied for full membership: December 2008 Confirmed as candidate: December 2010 Negotiations started: June 2012 Candidate status has boosted Montenegro's bid and the EU opened the country's accession talks on 29 June 2012. The EU says Montenegro must intensify its efforts to consolidate the rule of law, fight organised crime and corruption and protect freedom of expression.

Talks with the EU on a Stability and Association Agreement (SAA) began shortly after the country voted, in May 2006, to end its union with Serbia. The SAA was signed in October 2007. Montenegro's Prime Minister, Milo Djukanovic, has said he hopes his country will succeed in joining the EU before neighbouring Serbia or Macedonia. Since 19 December 2009, citizens of Montenegro have not needed visas to visit most EU countries - those in the Schengen zone. Applied for full membership: December 2009 Confirmed as candidate: March 2012 Serbia's progress towards the EU has been sluggish - it is trailing far behind its neighbour Croatia, a bitter enemy in the 1990s Balkan wars. But EU leaders granted Serbia candidate status at a Brussels summit in March 2012. Then in June 2013 they decided that EU accession negotiations with Serbia would go ahead, after Belgrade had clinched a landmark deal with Kosovo, allowing for a normalisation of ties. The accession talks will begin by January 2014 at the latest, the EU says.

A Commission report said the leaders of Serbia and Kosovo had shown "political courage and maturity" in tackling difficult issues jointly, as well as a commitment to better relations. Earlier Belgrade had agreed to allow Kosovo to take part in west Balkan regional meetings, despite refusing to recognise its independence. And the two sides agreed to control their volatile border jointly. A UN resolution in September 2010, in which Serbia dropped its demand to reopen negotiations on Kosovo's status, signalled Belgrade's willingness to compromise. Serbia's EU prospects improved after the arrest on 26 May 2011 of Europe's most wanted war crimes suspect, Gen Ratko Mladic. The former Bosnian Serb commander had been on the run for 16 years. EU Enlargement Commissioner Stefan Fuele said "a great obstacle on the Serbian road to the European Union has been removed". Serbia's co-operation with the international war crimes tribunal in The Hague remains a key condition in its accession bid. In July 2011 the last major indictee wanted in The Hague, former Croatian Serb leader Goran Hadzic, was arrested in northern Serbia and sent to The Hague for trial.

The two figures blamed the most for Bosnian Serb wartime atrocities are now on trial in The Hague - Gen Mladic and Radovan Karadzic, who was arrested in Serbia in 2008. Serbia is unlikely to join the EU until at least 2020. Citizens of Serbia and two other former Yugoslav republics - Macedonia and Montenegro - enjoy visa-free travel to the Schengen area, which includes most of the EU. The visa waiver applies to those who hold biometric passports. Serbia signed a Stabilisation and Association Agreement (SAA) with the EU in April 2008, but only in June 2010 did EU foreign ministers agree to put it into effect. Applied for full membership: 1987 Confirmed as candidate: December 1999 Negotiations started: October 2005 Turkey met the last condition for accession talks in July 2005, when it extended a customs union with the EU to all new member states, including Cyprus. However, it failed to ratify the customs union and its ports and airports remain closed to Cypriot traffic.

The EU responded, in December 2006, by freezing accession talks in eight policy areas. In May 2012 the EU and Turkey launched a "positive agenda", highlighting areas where they could expand co-operation. But Cyprus took up the EU's six-month rotating presidency in July 2012 and progress stalled, as Turkey refused to talk to the Cyprus authorities. Tensions remain over the breakaway ethnic Turkish administration in northern Cyprus, which is only recognised by Ankara. So far only 13 of Turkey's 35 negotiating chapters have been opened, and only one has been closed. The negotiations have been overshadowed by concerns about freedom of speech and democracy in Turkey, treatment of religious minorities, women's and children's rights, civilian control of the military and the Cyprus tensions. Germany's Chancellor Angela Merkel was among many European politicians who condemned the conservative ruling AK Party's crackdown on mass street protests in June 2013. Tensions escalated into a diplomatic row between Germany and Turkey. Police used tear gas and water cannon against demonstrators, who had initially staged a peaceful sit-in to stop a building project at Gezi Park, in the heart of Istanbul.

Some senior politicians in the EU - including Chancellor Merkel - want Turkey to have a partnership deal with the EU, rather than full membership. Some politicians worry that such a large, mainly Muslim country would change the whole character of the EU, while others point to the young labour force that Turkey could provide for an ageing Europe. The European Commission has urged Turkey to strengthen democracy and human rights, underlining the need for deeper judicial reform. The Commission's October 2012 report on Turkey criticised various human rights abuses, including the use of anti-terror laws to detain Kurdish rights activists and curb freedom of speech. Turkey reacted angrily to that criticism, saying the EU had undervalued Ankara's reforms, instead displaying "biased" attitudes. EU governments praised the "full respect of democratic standards and the rule of law" in Turkey's June 2011 parliamentary elections. The EU also welcomed the Yes vote in a Turkish referendum in September 2010, which gave the AK Party the go-ahead to change the military-era constitution and bring it more into line with EU norms. The UK Foreign Office says it expects Turkey to be ready for membership "in a decade or so".

From 6 to 28 members - European Commission From 6 to 28 members What were you looking for? Any suggestions? From 6 to 28 members From 6 to 28 members From 6 to 28 members The EU is a unique economic and political partnership between 28 European countries that together cover much of the continent. It was created in the aftermath of the Second World War. The first steps were to foster economic cooperation: the idea being that countries who trade with one another become economically interdependent and so more likely to avoid conflict. In 1951, six countries founded the European Coal and Steel Community, and later, in 1957, the European Economic Community and the European Atomic Energy Community: Belgium Luxembourg the Netherlands A further 22 countries have since joined the EU, including a historic expansion in 2004 marking the re-unification of Europe after decades of division: The history of the European Union Interactive timeline Founding fathers > After Slovenia, Croatia is the second country from ex-Yugoslavia to join the EU. The European perspective remains open to the entire Western Balkans region.

Two more countries from eastern Europe, Bulgaria and Romania, join the EU, bringing the number of member states to 27 countries. Ten new countries join the EU: Czech Republic, Estonia, Cyprus, Latvia, Lithuania, Hungary, Malta, Poland, Slovakia and Slovenia. This was the largest single enlargement in terms of people, and number of countries. Austria, Finland and Sweden join the EU. The 15 members now cover almost the whole of western Europe. Spain and Portugal become members Membership of the EU reaches double figures when Greece joins. It has been eligible to join since its military regime was overthrown and democracy restored in 1974. Denmark, Ireland and the United Kingdom join the European Union, raising the number of member states to nine. The organisation founded in 1957 which is now known as the European Union, originally had six members: Belgium, France, Germany, Italy, Luxembourg and the Netherlands.

Stay connected The World Factbook — Central Intelligence Agency Preliminary statement: The evolution of what is today the European Union (EU) from a regional economic agreement among six neighboring states in 1951 to today's hybrid intergovernmental and supranational organization of 28 countries across the European continent stands as an unprecedented phenomenon in the annals of history. Dynastic unions for territorial consolidation were long the norm in Europe; on a few occasions even country-level unions were arranged - the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth and the Austro-Hungarian Empire were examples. But for such a large number of nation-states to cede some of their sovereignty to an overarching entity is unique. Although the EU is not a federation in the strict sense, it is far more than a free-trade association such as ASEAN, NAFTA, or Mercosur, and it has certain attributes associated with independent nations: its own flag, currency (for some members), and law-making abilities, as well as diplomatic representation and a common foreign and security policy in its dealings with external partners. Thus, inclusion of basic intelligence on the EU has been deemed appropriate as a separate entity in The World Factbook.

However, because of the EU's special status, this description is placed after the regular country entries. Background: Following the two devastating World Wars in the first half of the 20th century, a number of far-sighted European leaders in the late 1940s sought a response to the overwhelming desire for peace and reconciliation on the continent. In 1950, the French Foreign Minister Robert SCHUMAN proposed pooling the production of coal and steel in Western Europe and setting up an organization for that purpose that would bring France and the Federal Republic of Germany together and would be open to other countries as well. The following year, the European Coal and Steel Community (ECSC) was set up when six members - Belgium, France, West Germany, Italy, Luxembourg, and the Netherlands - signed the Treaty of Paris. The ECSC was so successful that within a few years the decision was made to integrate other elements of the countries' economies. In 1957, envisioning an "ever closer union," the Treaties of Rome created the European Economic Community (EEC) and the European Atomic Energy Community (Euratom), and the six member states undertook to eliminate trade barriers among themselves by forming a common market.

In 1967, the institutions of all three communities were formally merged into the European Community (EC), creating a single Commission, a single Council of Ministers, and the body known today as the European Parliament. Members of the European Parliament were initially selected by national parliaments, but in 1979 the first direct elections were undertaken and have been held every five years since. In 1973, the first enlargement of the EC took place with the addition of Denmark, Ireland, and the UK. The 1980s saw further membership expansion with Greece joining in 1981 and Spain and Portugal in 1986. The 1992 Treaty of Maastricht laid the basis for further forms of cooperation in foreign and defense policy, in judicial and internal affairs, and in the creation of an economic and monetary union - including a common currency. This further integration created the European Union (EU), at the time standing alongside the EC. In 1995, Austria, Finland, and Sweden joined the EU/EC, raising the membership total to 15.

A new currency, the euro, was launched in world money markets on 1 January 1999; it became the unit of exchange for all EU member states except Denmark, Sweden, and the UK. In 2002, citizens of those 12 countries began using euro banknotes and coins. Ten new countries joined the EU in 2004 - Cyprus, the Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Malta, Poland, Slovakia, and Slovenia. Bulgaria and Romania joined in 2007 and Croatia in 2013, bringing the current membership to 28. (Seven of these new countries - Cyprus, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Malta, Slovakia, and Slovenia - have now adopted the euro, bringing total euro-zone membership to 19.) In an effort to ensure that the EU could function efficiently with an expanded membership, the Treaty of Nice (concluded in 2000; entered into force in 2003) set forth rules to streamline the size and procedures of EU institutions.

An effort to establish a "Constitution for Europe," growing out of a Convention held in 2002-2003, foundered when it was rejected in referenda in France and the Netherlands in 2005. A subsequent effort in 2007 incorporated many of the features of the rejected draft Constitutional Treaty while also making a number of substantive and symbolic changes. The new treaty, referred to as the Treaty of Lisbon, sought to amend existing treaties rather than replace them. The treaty was approved at the EU intergovernmental conference of the then 27 member states held in Lisbon in December 2007, after which the process of national ratifications began. In October 2009, an Irish referendum approved the Lisbon Treaty (overturning a previous rejection) and cleared the way for an ultimate unanimous endorsement. Poland and the Czech Republic ratified soon after. The Lisbon Treaty came into force on 1 December 2009 and the EU officially replaced and succeeded the EC.

The Treaty's provisions are part of the basic consolidated versions of the Treaty on European Union (TEU) and the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (TFEU) now governing what remains a very specific integration project. Frustrated by a remote bureaucracy in Brussels and massive migration into the country, UK citizens on 23 June 2016 narrowly voted to leave the EU. The so-called “Brexit” will take years to carry out, but could embolden skeptics of EU membership in other member states.

Geography :: EUROPEAN UNION Capital: name: Brussels (Belgium), Strasbourg (France), Luxembourg; note - the European Council, a gathering of the EU heads of state and/or government, and the Council of the European Union, a ministerial-level body of ten formations, meet in Brussels, Belgium, except for Council meetings held in Luxembourg in April, June, and October; the European Parliament meets in Brussels and Strasbourg, France, and has administrative offices in Luxembourg; the Court of Justice of the European Union is located in Luxembourg; and the European Central Bank is located in Frankfurt, Germany geographic coordinates: (Brussels) 50 50 N, 4 20 E time difference: UTC+1 (6 hours ahead of Washington, DC, during Standard Time) daylight saving time: +1hr, begins last Sunday in March; ends last Sunday in October Member states: 28 countries: Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, UK; note - candidate countries: Albania, Macedonia, Mont

enegro, Serbia, Turkey note: there are non-European overseas countries and territories (OCTs) having special relations with Denmark, France, the Netherlands, and the UK (list is annexed to the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union), that are associated with the Union to promote their economic and social development; member states apply to their trade with OCTs the same treatment as they accord each other pursuant to the treaties; OCT nationals are in principle EU citizens, but these countries are neither part of the EU, nor subject to the EU there are 25 OCTs (1 with Denmark [Greenland], 6 with France [French Polynesia; French Southern and Antarctic Lands; New Caledonia; Saint Barthelemy; Saint Pierre and Miquelon; Wallis and Futuna], 6 with the Netherlands [Aruba, Bonaire, Curacao, Saba, Sint Eustatius, Sint Maarten], and 12 with the UK [Anguilla; Bermuda; British Antarctic Territory; British Indian Ocean Territory; British Virgin Islands; Cayman Islands; Falkland Islands; Montserrat; Pitcairn Islands; Saint Helena, Ascension, and Tristan da Cunha; South Georgia and

 the South Sandwich Islands; Turks and Caicos Islands]), of which 22 have joined the Overseas Countries and Territories Association (OCTA); the 3 OCTs that are not part of OCTA (British Antarctic Territory, British Indian Ocean Territory, South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands) do not have a permanent population Independence: 7 February 1992 (Maastricht Treaty signed establishing the European Union); 1 November 1993 (Maastricht Treaty entered into force) note: the Treaties of Rome, signed on 25 March 1957 and subsequently entered into force on 1 January 1958, created the European Economic Community and the European Atomic Energy Community; a series of subsequent treaties have been adopted to increase efficiency and transparency, to prepare for new member states, and to introduce new areas of cooperation - such as a single currency; the Treaty of Lisbon, signed on 13 December 2007 and entered into force on 1 December 2009 is the most recent of these treaties and is intended to make the EU more democratic, more efficient, and better able to address global problems with one voice National holiday: Europe Day (also known as Sch

uman Day) 9 May (1950); note - the day in 1950 that Robert SCHUMAN proposed the creation of what became the European Coal and Steel Community, the progenitor of today's European Union, with the aim of achieving a united Europe Constitution: history: none; note - the EU legal order relies primarily on two consolidated texts encompassing all provisions as amended from a series of past treaties: the Treaty on European Union (TEU), as modified by the Lisbon Treaty states in Article 1 that "the HIGH CONTRACTING PARTIES establish among themselves a EUROPEAN UNION ...

on which the Member States confer competences to attain objectives they have in common"; Article 1 of the TEU states further that the EU is "founded on the present Treaty and on the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (hereinafter referred to as 'the Treaties')," both possessing the same legal value; Article 6 of the TEU provides that a separately adopted Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union "shall have the same legal value as the Treaties" amendments: European Union treaties can be amended in several ways: 1) Ordinary Revision Procedure (for key amendments to the treaties); initiated by an EU country’s government, by the EU Parliament, or by the EU Commission; following adoption of the proposal by the European Council, a convention is formed of national government representatives to review the proposal and subsequently a conference of government representatives also reviews the proposal; passage requires ratification by all EU countries; 2) Simplified Revision Procedure (for amendment of EU internal policies and actions); passage of a proposal requires unanimous European Council vote following European Council consultation with the EU Commission, the European Council, and the European Parliament, and requires ratification by all EU countries; 3) Passerelle Clause (allows the alteration of a legislative procedure

 without a formal amendment of the treaties); 4) Flexibility Clause (permits the EU to decide in subject areas not covered by the EU treaties); note - the Treaty of Lisbon (signed in December 2007 and effective in December 2009) amended the two treaties that formed the EU - the Maastricht Treaty (1993) and the Treaty of Rome (1958), known in updated form as the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (2007) (2016) Legal system: unique supranational law system in which, according to an interpretive declaration of member-state governments appended to the Treaty of Lisbon, "the Treaties and the law adopted by the Union on the basis of the Treaties have primacy over the law of Member States" under conditions laid down in the case law of the Court of Justice; key principles of EU law include fundamental rights as guaranteed by the Charter of Fundamental Rights and as resulting from constitutional traditions common to the EU's states; EU law is divided into 'primary' and 'secondary' legislation; primary legislation is derived from the consolidated versions of the Treaty on European Union and the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union) and

 are the basis for all EU action; secondary legislation - which includes directives, regulations, and decisions - is derived from the principles and objectives set out in the treaties Executive branch: under the EU treaties there are three distinct institutions, each of which conducts functions that may be regarded as executive in nature: the European Council: brings together heads of state and government, along with the president of the European Commission, and meets at least four times a year; its aim is to provide the impetus for the development of the Union and to issue general policy guidelines; the Treaty of Lisbon established the position of "permanent" (full-time) president of the European Council; leaders of the EU member states appoint the president for a 2 1/2 year term, renewable once; the president's responsibilities include chairing the EU summits and providing policy and organizational continuity; the current president is Donald TUSK (Poland), since 1 December 2014, succeeding Herman VAN ROMPUY (Belgian; 2009-14) the Council of the European Union: consists of ministers of each EU member state and meets regularly in 10 different configurations depending on the subject matter; it conducts policymaking and coordinating functions as well as legislative functions

; ministers of EU member states chair meetings of the Council of the EU based on a 6-month rotating presidency except for the meetings of EU Foreign Ministers in the Foreign Affairs Council that are chaired by the High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy the European Commission: headed by a College of Commissioners comprised of 28 members (one from each member country) including the president; each commissioner is responsible for one or more policy areas; the Commission's main responsibilities include the sole right to initiate EU legislation (except for foreign and security/defense policy), promoting the general interest of the EU, acting as "guardian of the Treaties" by monitoring the application of EU law, implementing/executing the EU budget, managing programs, negotiating on the EU's behalf in core policy areas such as trade, and ensuring the Union's external representation in some policy areas; its current president is Jean-Claude JUNCKER (Luxembourg) elected on 15 July 2014 (took office on 1 November 2014); the president of the European Commission is nominated by the European Council and formally "elected" by the European Parliament; the Commission president allocates specific responsibilities among the members of the College (appointed by common accord of the member state governments

 in consultation with the president-elect); the European Parliament confirms the entire Commission for a 5-year term; President JUNCKER reorganized the structure of the College around clusters or project teams coordinated by 7 vice presidents in line with the current Commission's main political priorities and appointed Frans TIMMERMANS (Netherlands) to act as his first vice president; the confirmation process for the next Commission expected be held in the fall of 2019 note: for external representation and foreign policy making, leaders of the EU member states appointed Federica MOGHERINI (Italy) as the High Representative of the European Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy; MOGHERINI took office on 1 November 2014, succeeding Catherine ASHTON (UK) (2009-14); the High Representative's concurrent appointment as Vice President of the European Commission endows her position with the policymaking influence of the Council of the EU and the budgetary influence (subject to Council's approval) of the Council of the EU and the budgetary/management influence of the European Commission; the High Representative helps develop and implement the EU's Common Foreign and Security Policy and Common Security and Defense Policy component, chairs the Foreign Affairs Council, represents and acts

 for the Union in many international contexts, and oversees the European External Action Service, the diplomatic corps of the EU, established on 1 December 2010 Legislative branch: description: two legislative bodies consisting of the Council of the European Union (28 seats; ministers representing the 28 member states) and the European Parliament (751 seats; seats allocated among member states roughly in proportion to population size; members elected by proportional representation to serve 5-year terms); note - the European Parliament President, currently Martin SCHULZ (German Socialist) is elected by a majority of fellow members of the European Parliament (MEPs) and represents the Parliament within the EU and internationally; the Council of the EU and the MEPs share responsibilities for adopting the bulk of EU legislation, normally acting in co-decision on Commission proposals (but not in the area of Common Foreign and Security Policy, which is governed by consensus of the EU member state governments) elections: last held on 22-25 May 2014 (next to be held May-June 2019) election results: percent of vote - EPP 29.4%, S&D 25.4%, ECR 9.3%, ALDE 

8.9%, GUE/NGL 6.9%, Greens/EFA 6.7%, EFD 6.4%, independent 6.9%; seats by party - EPP 221, S&D 191, ECR 70, ALDE 67, GUE/NGL 52, Greens/EFA 50, EFD 48, independent 52 Judicial branch: note: the European Court of Justice (ECJ) is the judicial authority in matters of European Union law; the ECJ ensures that EU law is interpreted and applied uniformly throughout the EU, resolves disputed issues among the EU institutions and with member states, issues opinions on questions of EU law referred by member state courts highest court(s): European Court of Justice (consists of 28 judges - 1 from each member state); the court may sit as a full court, in a "Grand Chamber" of 13 judges in special cases, but usually in chambers of 3 to 5 judges judge selection and term of office: judges appointed by the common consent of the member states to serve 6-year renewable terms subordinate courts: General Court; Civil Service Tribunal Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe or ALDE

 [Guy VERHOFSTADT] European United Left-Nordic Green Left or GUE/NGL [Gabriele ZIMMER] Europe of Freedom and Direct Democracy or EFDD [Nigel FARAGE and David BORRELLI] Europe of Nations and Freedom or ENF [Marine LE PEN and Marcel DE GRAAFF] European Conservatives and Reformists or ECR [Syed KAMALL] European Greens/European Free Alliance or Greens/EFA [Rebecca HARMS and Philippe LAMBERTS] European People's Party or EPP [Manfred WEBER] Group of the Alliance of Socialists and Democrats or S&D [Gianni PITELLA] International organization participation: ARF, ASEAN (dialogue member), Australian Group, BIS, BSEC (observer), CBSS, CERN, EBRD, FAO, FATF, G-8, G-10, G-20, IDA, IEA, IGAD (partners), LAIA (observer), NSG (observer), OAS (observer), OECD, PIF (partner), SAARC (observer), SICA (observer), UN (observer), UNRWA (observer), WCO, WTO, ZC (

observer) chief of mission: Ambassador David O'SULLIVAN (since 19 November 2014) chancery: 2175 K Street, NW, Suite 800, Washington, DC 20037 telephone: [1] (202) 862-9500 name: "Ode to Joy" lyrics/music: no lyrics/Ludwig VAN BEETHOVEN, arranged by Herbert VON KARAJAN note: official EU anthem since 1985; the music is meant to represent all of Europe rather than just the organization, conveying ideas of peace, freedom, and unity Economy :: EUROPEAN UNION Economy - overview: Internally, the 28 EU member states have adopted the framework of a single market with free movement of goods, services and capital.

Internationally, the EU aims to bolster Europe's trade position and its political and economic weight. Despite great differences in per capita income among member states (from $13,000 to $82,000) and in national attitudes toward issues like inflation, debt, and foreign trade, the EU has achieved a high degree of coordination of monetary and fiscal policies The EU economy is slowly recovering from the 2008-09 global economic crisis and the ensuing sovereign debt crisis in the euro zone in 2011. The bloc posted moderate GDP growth for 2014 through 2016, but the recovery has been uneven. Some EU member states Beyond the risk of deflation, the EU economy is vulnerable to a slowdown of global trade that would shrink the EU’s ample external trade surplus. Another round of financial market turmoil because of disagreements between bailed-out Greece and its euro-zon In June 2016, the UK voted to withdraw from the EU, the first member country ever to attempt to secede. Formal documents implementing the withdrawal have yet to be submitted to Brussels.

0.05% (31 December 2013) 0.3% (31 December 2012) note: this is the European Central Bank's rate on the marginal lending facility, which offers overnight credit to banks in the euro area country comparison to the world: 138 0.32% (31 December 2014 est.) 0.56% (31 December 2013 est.) country comparison to the world: 184 $7.165 trillion (31 December 2013) $7.422 trillion (31 December 2012) note: this is the quantity of money, M1, for the euro area, converted into US dollars at the exchange rate for the date indicated; it excludes the stock of money carried by non-euro-area members of the European Union, e.g., UK pounds, Danish kroner, and Czech k country comparison to the world: 1 $12.49 trillion (31 December 2012 est.) $12.29 trillion (31 December 2011 est.) note: this is the quantity of

 broad money for the euro area, converted into US dollars at the exchange rate for the date indicated; it excludes the stock of broad money carried by non-euro-area members of the European Union country comparison to the world: 3 $21.71 trillion (31 December 2012 est.) $21.29 trillion (31 December 2011 est.) note: this figure refers to the euro area only; it excludes credit data for non-euro-area members of the EU country comparison to the world: 2 $7.185 trillion (31 December 2014 est.) $7.932 trillion (31 December 2013 est.) $10.4 trillion (31 December 2012 est.) country comparison to the world: 3 3.166 trillion kWh (2014 est.) country comparison to the world: 3 2.771 trillion kWh (2013 est.) country comparison to the world: 3 336.2 billion kWh (2013 est.) country comparison to the world: 1 349.5 billion kWh (201

3 est.) country comparison to the world: 1 947 million kW (2012 est.) country comparison to the world: 3 49% of total installed capacity (2012 est.) country comparison to the world: 149 12.9% of total installed capacity (2012 est.) country comparison to the world: 15 10.7% of total installed capacity (2012 est.) country comparison to the world: 114 22.9% of total installed capacity (2012 est.) country comparison to the world: 13 1.411 million bbl/day (2014 est.) country comparison to the world: 18 5.789 billion bbl (1 January 2016 es) country comparison to the world: 21 11.12 million bbl/day (2014 est.) country comparison to the world: 2 12.53 million bbl/day (2014 est.) country comparison to the world: 2 2.196 million bbl/day (2015 est

.) country comparison to the world: 4 8.613 million bbl/day (2015 est.) country comparison to the world: 1 132.3 billion cu m (2014 est.) country comparison to the world: 6 386.9 billion cu m (2014 est.) country comparison to the world: 3 93.75 billion cu m (2010 est.) country comparison to the world: 4 420.6 billion cu m (2010 est.) country comparison to the world: 1 1.492 billion cu m (1 January 2015 es) country comparison to the world: 101 3.705 billion Mt (2014 est.) country comparison to the world: 3 Communications :: EUROPEAN UNION total: 213.8 million (July 2015 est.) country comparison to the world: 2 total: 632.5 million (July 2015 est.) country comparison to the world: 3 Military - note: the five-nation Eurocorps - created in 1

992 by France, Germany, Belgium, Spain, and Luxembourg - has deployed troops and police on peacekeeping missions to Bosnia-Herzegovina, Macedonia, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo and assumed command of the ISAF in Afghanistan in August 2004; Eurocorps directly commands the 5,000-man Franco-German Brigade, the Multinational Command Support Brigade, and EUFOR in Bosnia and Herzegovina; in November 2004, the EU Council of Ministers formally committed to creating 13 1,500-man battle groups by the end of 2007, to respond to international crises on a rotating basis; 22 of the EU's 28 nations have agreed to supply troops; France, Italy, and the UK formed the first of three battle groups in 2005; Norway, Sweden, Estonia, and Finland established the Nordic Battle Group effective 1 January 2008; nine other groups are to be formed; a rapid-reaction naval EU Maritime Task Group was stood up in March 2007 (2007) Transnational Issues :: EUROPEAN UNION Disputes - international: as a political union,

 the EU has no border disputes with neighboring countries, but Estonia has no land boundary agreements with Russia, Slovenia disputes its land and maritime boundaries with Croatia, and Spain has territorial and maritime disputes with Morocco and with the UK over Gibraltar; the EU has set up a Schengen area - consisting of 22 EU member states that have signed the convention implementing the Schengen agreements or "acquis" (1985 and 1990) on the free movement of persons and the harmonization of border controls in Europe; these agreements became incorporated into EU law with the implementation of the 1997 Treaty of Amsterdam on 1 May 1999; in addition, non-EU states Iceland and Norway (as part of the Nordic Union) have been included in the Schengen area since 1996 (full members in 2001), Switzerland since 2008, and Liechtenstein since 2011 bringing the total current membership to 26; the UK (since 2000) and Ireland (since 2002) take part in only some aspects of the Schengen area, especially with respect to police and criminal matters; nine of the 

13 new member states that joined the EU since 2004 joined Schengen on 21 December 2007; of the four remaining EU states, Romania, Bulgaria, and Croatia are obligated to eventually join, while Cyprus' entry is held up by the ongoing Cyprus dispute Britain facing new eastern Europe immigration surge - Telegraph Immigration Britain facing new eastern Europe immigration surge Britain is facing a new wave of Eastern European immigration which will put British workers’ jobs at risk, experts have warned.

Some experts have suggested that tens of thousands of Bulgarians and Romanians could be looking for work in the UK Photo: ALAMY By David Barrett , and Colin Freeman 9:00PM BST 21 Oct 2012 Comments Twenty nine million Bulgarians and Romanians will gain the right to live and work unrestricted in Britain in 2014 under European “freedom of movement” rules. Last night forecasters said it could lead to a significant number of new arrivals, in the same way as when Poland and other Eastern European countries gained the same rights in 2004, with the scale likely to be increased by the economic crisis gripping the rest of Europe. And a Government report was disclosed to show concern among official advisers that the British labour market will suffer “adverse effects” as a result. Both the countries’ citizens currently have restricted rights to come to Britain since they joined the European Union in 2007, but those limits end on 31 December 2013, opening the way for them to move freely.

The restrictions will be lifted at a time when there is increasing political tension over Britain’s relationship with Europe and questions over whether European “freedom of movement” rules have harmed the job prospects of British people. Related Articles Qatada to stay in UK for months even if he loses legal bid 10 Nov 2012 Theresa May, the Home Secretary, has already indicated she is keen to press for an end to the free movement of EU workers. But there appears to be no prospect of Britain preventing the restrictions being lifted, as it would involve tearing up the provisions of the treaty signed when Romania and Bulgaria joined the EU. The Home Office has made no official predictions of how many more Bulgarians and Romanians will seek to enter Britain when the current limitations end, and argues that most who want to come have probably arrived already, finding work on the black market if they cannot work legally. However, critics believe that the Government’s reluctance to issue predictions is because it grossly underestimated the numbers that came in the previous wave of migration in 2004, when citizens from eight new eastern European EU members, including Poland, were given full access to the UK job market.

Despite official predictions that less than 20,000 would arrive, some 669,000 people from those eight countries were working in the UK as of last year, according to the Office for National Statistics. Experts on the government’s Migration Advisory Committee agree immigration is likely to rise when the restrictions are lifted, and have warned it will have a negative effect on the job market in Britain. It said in a report: “Lifting the restrictions would almost certainly have a positive impact on migration inflows to the UK from those countries. “At one extreme the effect could be small (with the additional annual inflow being in the hundreds or low thousands, for instance) but it could be significantly higher. “It would not be sensible, or helpful to policymakers, for us to attempt to put a precise numerical range around this likely impact.” It said there was evidence Bulgarians would come to Britain because of this country’s higher rates of GDP, and also said it was “plausible” that Romanians would come for the same reasons. Robert Rowthorn, emeritus professor of economics at Cambridge University, said: “The potential for immigration is very large because these are poor countries and they have populations of nearly 30 million between them.

“I think it will have quite a big effect. When Poland and other eastern European countries joined the EU in 2004 there was an unexpected surge and around one million of them are living in this country now, with net migration running at about 40,000 a year. “I imagine a similar pattern will be repeated with Romania and Bulgaria, although the transitional controls have perhaps taken the edge off somewhat.” CONVERT GDP per capita in 2010 was £3,929 ($6,325) in Bulgaria - the poorest country in the EU - and £4,682 ($7,538) in Romania compared with £22,426 ($36,100) in the UK. Both countries have falling populations due to emigration. Already figures obtained by The Sunday Telegraph show the number of immigrants coming from the two countries reached a peak of just over 40,000 last year - suggesting that there is likely to be an even great number in 2015.

More than 130,000 immigrants from Romania and Bulgaria are living in Britain and Britain is one of the most popular destinations for Bulgarian migrants, along with Greece, Spain and Germany, while the Romanian Embassy says that Spain and Italy attract 80 per cent of their emigrants. But the perilous state of the Greek and Spanish economies may mean that much larger numbers of Romanians and Bulgarians decide to come here instead. Those who come currently either have to have a job when they move or declare themselves as self-employed. However an investigation by The Sunday Telegraph has revealed how loopholes in current restrictions have allowed eastern Europeans to take 50,000 jobs from which they should have been excluded. By declaring themselves technically “self-employed”, Bulgarians and Romanians have been able to access jobs in trades like hotel and restaurant work, sales, and taxi-driving. Hundreds of women have also been hired as self-employed lapdancers. Romanian and British job agencies have become adept at streamlining the paperwork involved for employers, so that even waiters, hotel receptionists and porters can be hired on a self-employed basis.

The “self-employed” category is also being used by strip clubs to recruit young Romanian and Bulgarian women, according to adverts placed on tjobs.ro, Romania’s leading recruitment website. One, posted by a Romanian agency named “Baran & Co”, offers to recruit girls for clubs in Birmingham and Leicester, earning £10 per “dance” for a client and up to £60 for a “VIP” dance. While the clubs are not named on the advertisement, a call to Baran & Co revealed that one of them was Angels nightclub in West Bromwich, whose website offers promises a display of “stunning and devilish” women “in the heart of the Black Country”. Statistics gathered by tjobs.ro show that a total of 774 jobs in British strip clubs have been offered to Romanians. Some promised earnings of between £3,000 and £7,000 per month. “We have a lot of beautiful women in Romania and they can make a lot of money in this way, although many of them are graduates and only do it for a year,” said Brindusa Ciuca, spokeswoman for tjobs.ro.

“What exactly they get up to in the UK I wouldn’t want to speculate on, and this kind of work can be dangerous. “We take the adverts on, though, because they are legitimate job offers and otherwise it would all just be done underground.” Based in the town of Targu Mures in Transylvania - a rural area where locals have long been used to travelling in search of work - the tjobs.ro agency acts as a clearing house for all recruitment firms seeking Romanians for UK work. In the past two and a half years, it has advertised some 81,476 jobs in Britain. Of these, 16,348 offers were in tourism and hotels, 15,385 were au pair and babysitting jobs, 8,650 were restaurant and catering jobs, 4,169 were in sales, 1,547 in household cleaning and maintenance, and 1,147 in transport, which includes chauffeuring and taxi driving.

Dr Martin Ruhs, director of the Oxford University Migration Observatory, said: “The Government’s policy intention has been to restrict employment for Romanians and Bulgarians, and to the extent that there are ways of getting around it, that undermines policy aims towards low paid jobs. I also can’t imagine that anybody intended to have Bulgarian and Romanian lapdancers here.” Official figures from the Department for Work and Pensions showed 40,260 Romanian and Bulgarian workers applied for National Insurance numbers last year - the largest number on record and a 28 per cent rise year on year. Sir Andrew Green, director of MigrationWatch UK, said: “I think there could be a significant spike from Romania and Bulgaria, particularly as the ecomonies in other parts of the EU are suffering serious difficulties. “Neither Spain nor Italy are a good bet at the moment if you’re looking for a job. “I think we need a further five year extension of the transitional arrangements.

Britain has done our bit with eastern European migrants - we’ve taken far more than any other country - and we could justify a special case for such an extension.” Sinclair Stevenson, the chief executive of Bucharest-based Premier Global International recruitment, said: “I think people in Romania will take advantage, as there is already now quite a strong community in the UK. With their language abilities, they have a propensity go there anyway.” Croatia is also due to join the EU in July next year but with a population of just four million it is unlikely to lead to large numbers of arrivals in Britain, and will also be subject to transitional controls.

Question: Which is the latest country to join the EU, doing so in July 2013?
Answer: Croatia