European Union member states
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Current members
There are currently 25 member states in the European Union. Together with their dates of accession, these are:
- Austria (1995)
- Belgium (founding member: 1952/58)
- Cyprus (2004)
- Czech Republic (2004)
- Denmark (1973)
- Estonia (2004)
- Finland (1995)
- France (founding member: 1952/58)
- Germany (founding member: 1952/58)
- Greece (1981)
- Hungary (2004)
- Ireland (1973)
- Italy (founding member: 1952/58)
- Latvia (2004)
- Lithuania (2004)
- Luxembourg (founding member: 1952/58)
- Malta (2004)
- The Netherlands (founding member: 1952/58)
- Poland (2004)
- Portugal (1986)
- Slovakia (2004)
- Slovenia (2004)
- Spain (1986)
- Sweden (1995)
- United Kingdom (1973)
Future and prospective members
Main article: Enlargement of the European Union
Acceding nations
Acceding countries (with year of submitting and accession):
- 1995, Bulgaria, completed negotiations, set for membership in 2007.
- 1995, Romania, completed negotiations, set for membership in 2007.
Candidate nations
The following states have submitted applications for EU membership (with year of submitting):
- 1987, Turkey, expected to start negotiations in October 2005. (EU-Turkey Customs Union is in force since 1995)
- 2003, Croatia, was set to start negotiations in March 2005, but they have been postponed.
Other nations
- 2004, Republic of Macedonia, currently in the process of being recognized as a candidate country by the EU.
- Switzerland has a long-standing EU membership application. The Swiss government's stated long-term aim is for Switzerland to join the EU when certain key conditions are met [1] (http://www.eda.admin.ch/eda/e/home/foreign/eu.html#0004). A recent study by the Demoscope institute found that 51% percent of those polled were against EU membership.
- Norway has previously submitted applications, but twice rejected membership in referenda. In November 2004, a study by the Opinion Institute found 56% of those who expressed an opinion were in favour of joining the EU, ten years after rejecting the idea by referendum. A representative of the institute stated that this has been the balance of power for two to three years. This was confirmed by another poll in April 2005. After two rejections of the EU constitution in France and Netherlands, 59% of Norwegians were opposed to membership in the EU according to a survey taken immediately after the referenda. Prime Minister Kjell Magne Bondevik, a leading figure in the 1994 'no' campaign who now sees the benfits of intergration, plans to raise the subject of joining midway through the next parliment, although the matter will not form part of his election manifesto. Norway's two largest political parties, Labor and the Conservative Party, are largely pro-EU but supporters of EU membership say they are waiting for public opinion to stabilise before launching a third campaign. A new EU membership debate will be started after 2007, when a date for a referendum will be set and, pending a positive outcome, negotiations will be launched on Norway's accession.
Special member state territories
- For information about EU territories and dependents outside continental Europe, see Special member state territories and their relations with the EU.
Maps
European Commission maps of the EU are available: [2] (http://europa.eu.int/comm/mediatheque/multimedia/select/maps_en.html),
See also
| European Union (EU) and candidates for enlargement | Missing image European_flag.png Flag of the European Union |
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Member countries: Austria | Belgium | Cyprus | Czech Republic | Denmark | Estonia | Finland | France | Germany | Greece | Hungary | Ireland | Italy | Latvia | Lithuania | Luxembourg | Malta | Netherlands | Poland | Portugal | Slovakia | Slovenia | Spain | Sweden | United Kingdom | |
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Acceding countries joining on January 1, 2007: Bulgaria | Romania | |
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