EU Enlargement: Council info and EU Publications

Enlargement is the process whereby countries join the European Union. Any European country which respects the EU values referred to in the Treaty of the European Union (TEU) and is committed to promoting them can apply to become a member of the EU.
Contains information on what is EU enlargement, accession steps, the role of the Council and candidate countries.

This page gives an overview of the latest and upcoming meetings, press releases and policies related to the work of the Council and the European Council in the area of enlargement.

Dedicated collection created by the Council Library. Examines how the work of European Council, Council of the European Union and GSC is viewed by the academia

Albania applied for EU membership in April 2009 and was granted EU candidate status in June 2014. The EU held its first intergovernmental conference with Albania in July 2022.

Bosnia and Herzegovina applied for EU membership in February 2016 and was granted EU candidate status in December 2022. Once the necessary degree of compliance with the membership criteria is achieved, Bosnia and Herzegovina can start accession negotiations.

Georgia applied for EU membership in March 2022 and was granted candidate status in December 2023, on the understanding that Georgia takes the relevant steps as set out in a Commission recommendation.

Moldova applied for EU membership in March 2022 and was granted EU candidate status in June 2022. In December 2023, EU leaders decided to open accession negotiations.

Montenegro applied for EU membership in December 2008 and was granted EU candidate status in December 2010. The EU-Montenegro accession negotiations started in June 2012. So far, 33 out of 35 negotiation chapters have been opened.

North Macedonia applied for EU membership in March 2004 and was granted EU candidate status in December 2005. The EU held its first intergovernmental conference with North Macedonia in July 2022.

Serbia applied for EU membership in December 2009 and was granted EU candidate status in March 2012. The EU-Serbia accession negotiations began in January 2014. So far, 22 out of 35 negotiation chapters have been opened.

Türkiye obtained EU candidate status in December 1999. The EU and Türkiye began accession negotiations in October 2005, but following continued backsliding by Türkiye on democracy, rule of law and fundamental rights, the EU-Türkiye accession negotiations have been at a standstill since June 2018.

Ukraine applied for EU membership in February 2022 and was granted EU candidate status in June 2022. In December 2023, EU leaders decided to open accession negotiations.

The European Council decides to open accession negotiations with Ukraine and with the Republic of Moldova and also decides to grant the status of candidate country to Georgia.

The Council approved conclusions on enlargement and stabilisation and association process.

On 23 June 2022, the European Council adopted conclusions on Ukraine, the membership applications of Ukraine, the Republic of Moldova and Georgia, Western Balkans and external relations.

Ministers approved Council conclusions on enlargement and stabilization and association process.

The Council agreed on the application of the revised enlargement methodology to the accession negotiations with Montenegro and Serbia, after both candidate countries expressed their acceptance of the new methodology. The changes will be accommodated within the existing negotiating frameworks with Montenegro and Serbia during the next Intergovernmental Conferences.

The Council today adopted conclusions on the EU's enlargement policy and the EU-Western Balkans stabilisation and association process - Albania and the Republic of North Macedonia. The Council also adopted two accompanying statements and the Commission made a statement.

Following the discussions held today (15 October 2019) in the General Affairs Council, the Presidency issued conclusions on enlargement and stabilisation and association process - Albania and the Republic of North Macedonia.

The Council takes note of the Communication from the Commission of 29 May 2019 on the EU Enlargement Policy and the reports on Montenegro, Serbia, Turkey, the Republic of North Macedonia, Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina and Kosovo.

The Council adopted conclusions on the EU's enlargement policy and the EU-Western Balkans stabilisation and association process.

The geopolitical dimension of enlargement policy became more pronounced in 2022, when Ukraine, Moldova and Georgia asked to join the EU. Since then, fresh geopolitical challenges have accelerated the need to reform enlargement policy and cemented a shift towards the merit-based integration of new countries. Geopolitical considerations include security and defence and also foreign policy alignment, for instance in terms of relations with strategic competitors, such as China and Russia. Enlargement also presents challenges for other areas, such as the EU's budget, decision-making and agricultural policy. Regional cooperation and the resolution of bilateral disputes meanwhile remain key elements for aspiring members.

In the last seven years a growing number of economies from the EU Enlargement and Neighbourhood region have expressed their commitment to pursue innovation policy development based on the Smart Specialisation approach. To facilitate the process in methodological terms, the JRC proposed a framework describing the specificities of each phase and providing guidance for their implementation, now known as the S3 Framework for the EU Enlargement and Neighbourhood Region (S3 Framework). As the qualitative mapping exercise represents one of the most important stages of Smart Specialisation, this report aims at supporting the S3 Framework in order to maximise the benefits and avoid potential issues in the qualitative mapping process.

This paper contains the Commission staff’s assessments of the Economic Reform Programmes for 2022-2024, preceded by a horizontal overview summarising the key findings from a cross-country perspective, and taking stock of the implementation of the country-specific policy guidance adopted in 2021. The cut-off date for the assessments was 8 April 2022.

This analysis looks at the future of the EU and Ukraine, using a time horizon of 2035.

The EU strives to be not only an economic actor but also a geopolitical one, so its common foreign and security policy (CFSP) is becoming progressively more important in the enlargement process of Western Balkan countries and Türkiye. Candidate countries and potential candidates are expected to fully align with the EU acquis prior to accession. Countries applying for EU membership are required to align with the CFSP either by the terms in their Stabilisation and Association Agreements (SAAs) or in the negotiating framework, if one has been adopted. Countries already negotiating EU accession (Montenegro, Serbia and Türkiye) are formally required to progressively align with the CFSP.

This study provides Members of the European Parliament and other interested stakeholders with an independent evaluation of the likely economic, social and environmental impacts from the 10 Flagship projects of the Economic and Investment Plan for the Western Balkans (EIP), adopted by the European Commission on 6 October 2020. On the basis of a tailor-made methodology, the EIP projects' impact is assessed according to their relevance, effectiveness and efficiency, as well as their synergies and coherence with the wider aims of the EIP and EU enlargement policy. The study identifies the novel aspects of these Flagship projects and considers lessons learned from previous EU and international assistance and evaluates the projects' overall economic, social and environmental impacts as well as their transversal implications in the Western Balkans.

This paper has been produced by the Ex-post Evaluation Unit of the Directorate for Impact Assessment and European Added Value, within the European Parliamentary Research Service (EPRS) of the Secretariat of the European Parliament, as a regional evaluation in parallel to the EPRS 2022 Peace and Security Outlook. It has been drafted as a contribution to the Normandy World Peace Forum taking place in September 2022. The paper provides the background to EU relations with Georgia, Moldova and Ukraine and analyses the most recent reforms achieved through the implementation of the association agreements in each country, up to the date of their applications for membership.

Over the past decade, the EU has accelerated external action efforts to support local and regional authorities (LRAs) in the enlargement countries. The EU financial assistance to LRAs within the Enlargement Region pursued the main objectives of increasing LRA empowerment, fostering their capacities and performance as democratic policy makers and local service providers while improving their national framework conditions in the long term. In this context, EU financial support primarily focused on four types of interventions: improving the LRAs’ regulatory and local governance framework; strengthening the ability of LRAs to fulfil their core mandates by improving their political, financial, and administrative capacities; improving local infrastructure and LRAs’ capacity to deliver core services; and stimulating local economic development in strategic areas.

Enlargement policy applies to countries currently aspiring to join the EU and potential candidates. The prospect of membership is a powerful stimulus for democratic and economic reforms in countries that want to become EU members.

The Treaty on the European Union states that any European country may apply for membership if it respects the democratic values of the EU and is committed to promoting them.

Membership negotiations cannot start until all EU governments agree, in the form of a unanimous decision by the EU Council, on a framework or mandate for negotiations with the candidate country.

On 8 November 2023, the European Commission adopted its 2023 Enlargement Package, providing a detailed assessment of the state of play and the progress made by the Western Balkans, Türkiye, Georgia, Moldova and Ukraine on their respective paths towards the European Union, with a particular focus on implementing fundamental reforms, as well as clear guidance on the reform priorities ahead.

The beginning of 2022 was marked by Russia’s unprovoked and unjustified war of aggression against Ukraine – a harsh awakening to a new geopolitical reality. This has once again put EU enlargement to the fore of the European agenda. Following the applications for EU membership submitted by Ukraine, the Republic of Moldova and Georgia in spring 2022, on 17 June the European Commission presented its opinions as invited by the Council.

The briefings drafted by the European Parliament Secretariat's Task-Force on "Enlargement" aim to present in a systematic, summary form, the state of discussions on the various aspects of enlargement of the Union and the positions adopted by the Member States and European institutions. Briefings will be updated as the negotiations progress.

Collections of various briefings and studies.

This note gathers links to the recent publications and commentaries from many international think tanks on enlargement and issues with EU accession countries.

Established in 1957, the European Union (EU) has grown from the six original members to 28 Member States as a result of six enlargements. EU enlargement policy currently concerns those countries applying for EU membership, and the potential candidates from the Western Balkans.