On what legal basis can states become EU members?

The Treaty on European Union says in Article 49 that "any European State which respects the principles set out in Article 6(1) may apply to become a member of the Union". Article 6(1) states that “the Union is founded on the principles of liberty, democracy, respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms, and the rule of law, principles which are common to the Member States.”

The European Union has not defined its limits in geographical terms, but every applicant country has to meet the basic conditions laid down by the European Council in Copenhagen in 1993 (the so-called Copenhagen Criteria):

• democracy, the rule of law, human rights, respect for minorities;
• a functioning market economy, and the capacity to cope with competitive pressures;
• the ability to take on the obligations of membership (in other words, to apply effectively the EU’s rules and policies).

Was the Eastern Enlargement in 2004 the first round of enlargement?

No. The EU can already look back on a history of successful enlargements. The Treaties of Paris (1951), establishing the European Coal and Steel Community (ECSC), and Rome (1957), establishing the European Economic Community (EEC) and EURATOM, were signed by six founding members: Belgium, France, Germany, Italy, Luxembourg and the Netherlands. The EU then underwent four successive enlargements:

1973: Denmark, Ireland and the United Kingdom

1981: Greece

1986: Portugal and Spain

1995: Austria, Finland and Sweden

Yet, the fifth round of enlargement was unprecedented in its scope. In March 1998, the European Union formally launched negotiations on accession with 12 countries, 10 of which joined the EU on 1 May 2005: Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Czech Republic, Slovakia, Hungary, Slovenia, Malta and Cyprus. Negotiations with Bulgaria and Romania are still under way.

The Accession Process

• any state whishing to become a member of the EU must file a formal application

• on request by the European Council, the European Commission prepares an assessment of the country’s ability to fulfil the Copenhagen Criteria and issues a recommendation to start accession negotiations (the so-called avis)

• The European Council decides to start formal negotiations on accession

• In order to join the European Union, candidate countries must incorporate and implement the so-called acquis communautaire - all EU legislation, which amounts to around 80000 pages. EU legislation must not only be adopted but also applied in practice. In the case of Eastern Enlargement, the European Commission divided the acquis into 31 chapters on specified topics, such as agriculture, competition and statistics.

• In order to assist the countries that have applied to become members of the European Union to carry out the reforms required for membership and to equip themselves to benefit from EU funds on accession, the Union provides financial assistance as part of its Pre-Accession Strategy. The Phare programme applies to the acceding and candidate countries from Central and Eastern Europe, and principally involves Institution Building measures (with accompanying Investment) as well as measures designed to promote Economic and Social Cohesion. The ISPA programme deals with large-scale environment and transport investment support, and comes under the responsibility of the Directorate-General for Regional Policy. The SAPARD programme supports agricultural and rural development and comes under the responsibility of the Directorate-General for Agriculture

• Once negotiations on a specified topic have been successful, the relevant chapter is closed provisionally. Negotiations last until all 31 chapters have been closed.

• After the European Parliament approves of accession, member states sign the accession treaty with the candidate countries. These accession treaties may contain transitional provisions.

• The accession treaty is ratified according to each country’s constitutional provisions. In some member countries there is a requirement to hold a referendum. The accession treaty comes into force after ratification by all member states and the accession country

How long does accession take?

The duration of the accession process is not specified and is different from case to case. Accession negotiations lasted 8 years in the case of Spain and Portugal, whereas Austria joined the EU six years after filing its application in 1989. Due to their complicated political and socio-economic transition from Communism, accession took longer in the case of the Central and Eastern European countries. Much depends on how quickly accession countries can adopt and implement European legislation.