Candidate Countries of the European Union

After successfully growing from 6 to 27 members, the European Union is now preparing for the next enlargement. Bulgaria and Romania joined on 1 January 2007, with Turkey, the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia and Croatia now referred to as Candidate Countries.

In order to join the Union, they need to fulfil the economic and political conditions known as the 'Copenhagen criteria', according to which a prospective member must:

• be a stable democracy, respecting human rights, the rule of law, and the protection of minorities;
• have a functioning market economy;
• adopt the common rules, standards and policies that make up the body of EU law.

The EU assists these countries in taking on EU laws, and provides a range of financial assistance to improve their infrastructure and economy.

Candidate Countries

To learn more about each of the countries which have applied to become members of the European Union and have been granted candidate country status, visit the individual country profiles which contain facts and figures; key information and documents; press releases, speeches and the latest news; as well as links to other information about the country in question.

Candidate Countries

this page updated October 2, 2008