EU Enlargement Process

Background:

Two successive waves of EU enlargement in 2004 and 2007 brought 10 new member states from Central and Eastern Europe, plus Cyprus and Malta, into the single market and political institutions of the European Union. All new EU entrants are expected to adopt the common currency, the euro, once they meet certain economic criteria. By 2011, the eurozone will contain 17 out of 27 members, with Estonia approved to adopt the euro on January 1, 2011. Meanwhile, the Schengen area has expanded to remove internal border controls between 25 European countries (including non-EU members Iceland, Norway and Switzerland).

The EU enlargement process hinges on prospective members meeting a series of requirements known as the Copenhagen criteria, after which their entry must be accepted by all EU countries. New entrants must have stable institutions that guarantee democracy, the rule of law, human rights and protection of minorities; a functioning market economy able to cope with competition and EU single market forces; and the administrative ability to apply and manage EU laws and objectives. Prospective member countries enter into negotiations about their capacity to implement the acquis communautaire, the accumulated legislation and court acts constituting the body of European Union law.