Enlargement
- The 2004 celebrations in Brussels marking the enlargement of the EU. (Photo: European Commission)
Enlargement
All European nation states may apply for membership in the European Union. A decision to enlarge requires unanimity among all existing member states.
The original EEC of Germany, France, Italy, Belgium, Netherlands and Luxembourg has been enlarged as follows:
|
Country |
Applied |
Joined |
|
Ireland |
1961 |
1973 |
|
UK |
1961 |
1973 |
|
Danmark |
1961 |
1973 |
|
Greece |
1975 |
1981 |
|
Portugal |
1977 |
1986 |
|
Spain |
1977 |
1986 |
|
Austria |
1989 |
1995 |
|
Sweden |
1991 |
1995 |
|
Finland |
1992 |
1995 |
|
Cyprus |
1990 |
2004 |
|
Czech Republic |
1995 |
2004 |
|
Estonia |
1995 |
2004 |
|
Hungary |
1994 |
2004 |
|
Latvia |
1995 |
2004 |
|
Lithuania |
1995 |
2004 |
|
Malta |
1990 |
2004 |
|
Poland |
1994 |
2004 |
|
Slovakia |
1995 |
2004 |
|
Slovenia |
1996 |
2004 |
- Turkey has been provided with pre-accession funds from December 2004.
- Macedonia (FYROM) applied for
membership in March 2004.
- Iceland applied for membership in 2009 and cancelled the negotiations by 2014
- Montenegro was
accepted as candidate country in 2010
Links
http://ec.europa.eu/enlargement/index_en.htm
