Member States and candidates

The forerunner organisation of the European Union was founded by six Member States: Belgium, France, Germany, Italy, Luxembourg and the Netherlands. En 1973, Denmark, Ireland and the United Kingdom joined, followed in 1981 by Greece and in 1986 by Spain and Portugal. This gave rise to the Europe of Twelve (EU-12). Then, in 1995, Austria, Finland and Sweden acceded to the European Union, forming the Europe of Fifteen (EU-15).

In 2004, the European family expanded considerably when 10 new Member States joined: Cyprus, the Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Malta, Poland, Slovakia and Slovenia.

In 2007, Bulgaria and Romania joined the European Union, bringing the total number of Member States to 27 (EU-27).

Five more countries have also applied for membership: Croatia, the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, Iceland, Turkey and Montenegro.