Conditions for Membership in European Union

8/12/2019 Conditions for Membership in European Union

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The European Union (EU) is aunique economic and politicalpartnership between 28 European

countries that together covermuch of the continent. The six countries that founded

the EU are: Belgium, Germany,France, Italy, Luxembourg and theNetherlands.

Introduction


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A further 22 countries have

since joined the EU. In 2004was the largest enlargement interms of people and number

of countries.The most recent countries thatbecame members of this

Union are: Romania andBulgaria (2007), Croatia(2013).


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Croatia signed the accession treaty

on 9 December 2011 became the28th EU member country on 1 July2013.

The former Yugoslav Republic of

Macedonia, Montenegro, Serbia,Turkey and Iceland are stillnegotiating or waiting to start.

Albania, Bosnia and Kosovo arepotential candidates that werepromised the prospect of joiningwhen they are ready.


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Each year the Commissionadopts its "Enlargementpackage" that is a set of

documents explaining its policyon EU enlargement andreporting on progress achieved

in each country.


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The Instrument for Pre-accession Assistance (IPA) is themeans by which the EU supports

reforms in the 'enlargementcountries' with financial andtechnical help.


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IPA funding will amount to some

11.5 billion over 2007-2013.The beneficiary countries are:Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina,

Croatia, the former YugoslavRepublic of Macedonia, Iceland,Kosovo, Montenegro, Serbia and

Turkey.


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Transition Assistance and InstitutionBuilding- Helps strengthen democra-tic institutions, administrative &

judicial capacity, and civil society.

Cross-Border Cooperation -Essentialfor promoting good neighbourlyrelations and regional cooperation

Regional development (transport,environment, regional and economicdevelopment)


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Human resources (strengthe-ning human capital and

combating social exclusion) Rural development.

EU candidate countries (Croatia,Turkey and the former YugoslavRepublic of Macedonia) are

eligible for all five componentsof IPA.


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EU pre-accession funds make political

and economic reform easier in thebeneficiary countries and preparethem for the rights and obligations

that come with EU membership. Withthe EU's help, citizens in theenlargement region can enjoy better

opportunities and overall conditions.Their countries can develop the samestandards we enjoy as citizens of theEU.


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The pre-accession funds also helpthe EU reach its own objectivesregarding a sustainable economicrecovery, energy supply, transport,the environment and climatechange, etc. This is a soundinvestment in the future.


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New members are admitted by EU only when

they can demonstrate they will be able to playtheir part fully as members, namely by:

complying with all the EU's standards andrules;

having the consent of the EU institutions andEU member states;

having the consent of their citizens as

expressed through approval in their nationalparliament or by referendum.


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The Treaty on the European Union states that

any European country may apply formembership if it respects the democraticvalues of the EU and is committed topromoting them.

The first step is for the country to meet thekey criteria for accession. These were mainlydefined at the European Council in

Copenhagen in 1993 and are hence referredto as 'Copenhagen criteria'.


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Countries wishing to join need to have: stable institutions guaranteeing

democracy, the rule of law, humanrights and respect for and protectionof minorities;

a functioning market economy and the

capacity to cope with competition andmarket forces in the EU;

the ability to take on and implementeffectively the obligations ofmembership, including adherence tothe aims of political, economic andmonetary union.


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The process of joining the EU (accession)broadly consists of 3 stages:

1) When a country is ready it becomes anofficialcandidate for membership2) The candidate moves on to formal

membership negotiations, a process thatinvolves the adoption of established EUlaw, preparations to be in a position toproperly apply known as accession criteria.

3) When the negotiations and accompanyingreforms have been completed to thesatisfaction of both sides, the country canjoin the EU.


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The conditions and timing ofthe candidate s adoption,implementation and enforcementof all current EU rules.

These rules are divided into 35different policy fields (chapters),

such as transport, energy,environment, etc., each of which isnegotiated separately.


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Other issues discussed:

financial arrangements (such as how muchthe new member is likely to pay into andreceive from the EU budget (in the form oftransfers)

transitional arrangements sometimescertain rules are phased in gradually, to givethe new member or existing members time toadapt.


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Membership negotiations cannot startuntil all EU governments agree, in theform of a unanimous decision by the EUCouncil.

Negotiations under each chapter arebased on the following elements:1. Screening the Commission carriesout a detailed examination, togetherwith the candidate country, of eachpolicy field (chapter), to determine how

well the country is prepared. Thefindings by chapter are presented bythe Commission to the Member Statesin the form of a screeningreport.


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2.Negotiating positions before negotiationscan start, the candidate country mustsubmit its position and the EU must adopt a

common position. For most chapters the EUwill set closing benchmarks in this positionwhich need to be met by the CandidateCountry before negotiations in the policyfield concerned can be closed.

The duration of negotiations can vary Starting at the same time as another

country is no guarantee of finishing at thesame time.


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1. Closing the chapters - Nonegotiations on any individualchapter are closed until every EUgovernment is satisfied with the

candidate's progress in that policyfield, as analyzed by theCommission.

2. Accession treaty- This is thedocument that cements thecountry's membership of the EU.


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The accesion treatyis not final and bindinguntil it:

wins the support of the EU Council, theCommission, and the European Parliament.

is signed by the candidate country andrepresentatives of all existing EU countries.

is ratified by the candidate country andevery individual EU country, according totheir constitutional rules (parliamentaryvote, referendum, etc.).


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3. Acceding country Once the treaty is signed, however, the

candidate becomes an acceding country.This means it is expected to become afull EU member on the date laid down inthe treaty, providing the treaty has been

ratified. In the interim, it benefits from specialarrangements, such as being able to

comment on draft EU proposals,communications, recommendations orinitiatives, and active observer statuson EU bodies and agencies.

Documents

Conditions for Membership in European Union