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(Future
Enlargement of the European Union
)
Bosnia-Herzegovina
Is not expected to join the EU until
2015 at the earliest.
Ten years after the 1992-5 war, it has
started talks on a Stability and Association Agreement (SAA) with the EU,
but has not yet applied for membership.
The EU maintains a peacekeeping force
and a police mission in Bosnia.
The promise of eventual membership is
seen as a diplomatic tool that promotes stability. The memory of the wars
in Yugoslavia remains too strong for the offer to be withdrawn.
Population: 4.2 million (UN, 2005)
Capital: Sarajevo
Area: 51,129 sq km (19,741 sq miles)
Major languages: Bosnian, Croatian and
Serbian
Major religions: Christianity, Islam
Life expectancy: 71 years (men), 77
years (women) (UN)
Monetary unit: 1 convertible marka = 100
convertible pfenniga
Main exports: Wood and paper, metal
products
GNI per capita: US $2,440 (World Bank,
2006)
Croatia
Applied for membership: February 2003
Confirmed as candidate country: June 2004 Negotiations started: October
2005
Accession talks began seven months late,
after Croatia convinced the EU it was doing its best to find war crimes
suspect Gen Ante Gotovina.
Croatia wants to join by 2009, a goal
which EU Enlargement Commissioner Olli Rehn describes as "ambitious
but realistic".
The EU is urging Croatia to reform its
judiciary and public administration, tackle corruption, ensure minority
rights, and keep co-operating with the international war crimes tribunal.
Population: 4.4 million (UN, 2005)
Capital: Zagreb
Area: 56,594 sq km (21,851 sq km)
Major language: Croatian
Major religion: Christianity
Life expectancy: 71 years (men), 78
years (women) (UN)
Monetary unit: 1 kuna = 100 lipa
Main exports: Machinery and transport
equipment, clothing, chemicals
GNI per capita: US $8,060 (World Bank,
2006)
Macedonia
Macedonia applied for EU membership in
March 2004 and obtained candidate status in December 2005.
No date has been set for membership
talks to begin.
The European Commission welcomed the
peaceful elections held in July 2006, and said an assessment of the
country's preparedness for membership talks would be made in autumn.
A date of 2012 has been suggested as a
possible target for the country to join the EU.
Population: 2 million (UN, 2003)
Capital: Skopje
Area: 25,713 sq km (9,928 sq miles)
Major language: Macedonian, Albanian
Major religion: Christianity, Islam
Life expectancy: 71 years (men), 76
years (women) (UN)
Monetary unit: 1 denar = 100 deni
Main exports: Clothing, iron and steel
GNI per capita: US $2,830 (World Bank,
2006)
Montenegro
Montenegro's Prime Minister, Milo
Djukanovic, has said he hopes his country will succeed in joining the EU
before Serbia or Macedonia.
The EU halted Stability and Association
Agreement (SAA) talks with the union of Serbia and Montenegro in May 2006,
because of Belgrade's failure to send former Bosnian Serb general Ratko
Mladic to be tried in The Hague.
The EU will now hold separate SAA
negotiations with Montenegro, which could, in theory, be concluded by the
end of 2006.
However, diplomats are keen to avoid
offending Serbia, especially at a time when talks on Kosovo's status are
under way.
Population: 620,000 (2003 census)
Administrative capital: Podgorica
Area: 13,812 sq km (5,333 sq miles)
Main religions: Christianity, Islam
Languages: Serbian, Albanian
Life expectancy: 71 years (men), 76
years (women) (UN)
Monetary unit: euro
Main export: Aluminium
Serbia
Serbia is not expected to join the EU
until 2015 at the earliest.
The union of Serbia and Montenegro
opened talks on a Stability and Association Agreement (SAA) with the EU -
the first step on the path to membership - in October 2005.
But the EU called off the talks in May
2006 because of Belgrade's failure to arrest former Bosnian Serb general
Ratko Mladic and send him for trial in The Hague.
Officials say that once Gen Mladic has
been caught, negotiations could begin again immediately.
Population: 7.5 million (2002 census,
excludes Kosovo; UN mission estimates Kosovo population as circa 2
million)
Capital: Belgrade
Area: 88,361 sq km (34,116 sq miles)
(includes Kosovo)
Major language: Serbian
Major religion: Christianity
Life expectancy: 71 years (men), 76
years (women) (UN)
Monetary unit: Dinar = 100 paras
Main exports: Manufactured goods, food
and live animals, machinery and transport equipment
GNI per capita: US $2,680 (World Bank,
2006)
Others
who may join
Albania is not expected to join the EU
until 2015 at the earliest. It has not yet applied for membership.
The EU and Albania concluded a
Stabilisation and Association Agreement (SAA), seen as the first step
towards membership, in June 2006.
The negotiations took three-and-a-half
years - three times longer than they took in Croatia's and Macedonia's
case.
This is because the EU thought Albania
was moving too slowly in the fight against corruption and organised crime.
Population: 3.2 million (UN, 2005)
Capital: Tirana
Major language: Albanian
Major religions: Islam, Christianity
Life expectancy: 71 years (men), 77
years (women) (UN)
Monetary unit: 1 lek = 100 qindars
Main exports: Chromium and chrome
products, processed foodstuffs
GNI per capita: US $2,580 (World Bank,
2006)
Turkey
Applied for full membership: 1987
Confirmed as candidate: December 1999
Negotiations started: October 2005
Turkey met the last condition for
accession talks in July 2005, when it extended a customs union with the EU
to all new member states, including Cyprus.
However, it failed to ratify the customs
union and its ports and airports remain closed to Cypriot traffic.
The problem could derail the accession
talks, which are expected to continue at least until 2014 even if all goes
well.
Population: 73.3 million (UN, 2005)
Capital: Ankara
Area: 779,452 sq km (300,948 sq miles)
Major language: Turkish
Major religion: Islam
Life expectancy: 68 years (men), 73
years (women) (UN)
Monetary unit: New Turkish lira
Main exports: Fruit and vegetables,
textiles and clothing, iron and steel
GNI per capita: US $4,710 (World Bank,
2006)
