The enlargement of the European Union is an ongoing process. The Union has already enlarged six times since its creation with the six founder members (France, Germany, Italy, Belgium, the Netherlands and Luxembourg):

• Denmark, Ireland and the United Kingdom in 1973
• Greece in 1981
• Portugal and Spain in 1986
• Austria, Finland and Sweden in 1995
• Cyprus, the Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Malta, Poland, Slovakia, and Slovenia in 2004
• Bulgaria and Romania in 2007

There are three basic membership conditions; these were laid down by EU Member states in 1993 meeting in Copenhagen. Before joining the EU, candidate states must have:

• Stable institutions capable of guaranteeing democracy, the rule of law, human rights, respect for minorities and protection of minorities
  
• A market economy and the ability to cope with competition from other Member states
  
• The administrative capacity to handle the rights and obligations of the membership. These include supporting the work of the Union and the application of EU laws. They also must be able to demonstrate their acceptance of the full body of existing EU legislation, known as the acquis communautaire.

Currently there are two candidate countries:

• Turkey and Croatia

Negotiations with Turkey are expected to take a considerable amount of time, whereas those with Croatia may be concluded in a few years time.

The Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia has submitted an application for membership. This application has already been accepted by the EU but so far no date has been set for the commencement of entry negotiations.

Countries of the western Balkans such as Bosnia & Herzegovina, Serbia, Montenegro and Albania may also be included in further enlargements. The EU is of the opinion that these countries, once they are ready, should become members of the EU.

For more information on Enlargement please visit http://europa.eu/pol/enlarg/index_en.htm