Candidate countries

The Treaty on European Union (1992), also known as the Maastricht Treaty, stipulates that “that any European state which respects the principles of liberty, democracy, human rights and fundamental freedoms, and the rule of law may apply to join the Union”. The provisions of the Treaty were complemented by the following four EU membership criteria adopted by the European Council in Copenhagen in 1993 and commonly known as the ‘Copenhagen criteria’:

• The creation of stable institutions guaranteeing democracy, the rule of law, human rights and respect for minorities;
  
• the development of a viable market economy;
  
• the ability to subscribe to the objectives of political, economic and monetary union;
  
• the adjustment of administrative structures in candidate Member States to create the conditions required for progressive and harmonious integration.

As soon as the candidate countries meet these criteria, negotiations for their accession to the EU can begin. Usually these talks last several years and result in a new Member State joining the Union.

The European Union currently has four candidate countries: Croatia, the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, Iceland and Turkey.