EU candidate countries

There are five recognised candidates for future membership of the European Union:Turkey (applied in 14 April 1987), Macedonia (applied in 22 March 2004), Montenegro (applied in 2008), Albania (applied in 2009) and Serbia (applied in 2009). All except Albania and Macedonia have started accession negotiations.Kosovo, whose independence is not recognised by five EU member states, and Bosnia and Herzegovina, are recognised as potential candidates for membership by the EU.Bosnia and Herzegovina has formally submitted an application for membership, while Kosovo has a Stabilisation and Association Agreement (SAA) with the EU, which generally precedes the lodging of membership application. In July 2014, Jean-Claude Juncker announced that the EU has no plans to expand in the next five years.

The accession criteria are included in the Copenhagen criteria, agreed in 1993, and the Treaty of Maastricht (Article 49). Article 49 of the Maastricht Treaty (as amended) says that any "European state" that respects the "principles of liberty, democracy, respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms, and the rule of law", may apply to join the EU. Whether a country is European or not is subject to political assessment by the EU institutions.

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