Member State of the European Union

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A Member State of the European Union is any one of the twenty-seven sovereign nation states that have acceded the European Union (EU) since its de facto inception in 1951 as the European Coal and Steel Community (ECSC). From an original membership of six states, there have been six successive enlargements, the largest occurring on 1 May 2004, when ten Member States joined. The EU is currently composed of twenty republics, six kingdoms and one grand duchy.

Following the addition of Romania and Bulgaria in 2007, the EU's membership now stands at twenty-seven. Negotiations are also under way with a number of other states. The process of enlargement is sometimes referred to as European integration. However, this term is also used to refer to the intensification of cooperation between EU Member States as national governments allow for the gradual centralising of power within European institutions. Before being allowed to join the European Union, a state must fulfil the economic and political conditions generally known as the Copenhagen criteria: these basically require that a candidate Member State must enjoy a secular, democratic system of government, together with the corresponding freedoms and institutions, and respect the rule of law. Under the terms of the Treaty on European Union, enlargement of the Union is conditional upon the agreement of each existing Member State as well as approval by the European Parliament.

Bulgaria and Romania comprise the second part of the EU's fifth enlargement, and joined the EU on 1 January 2007. This date was agreed upon at the Thessaloniki Summit in 2003, confirmed at Brussels on 18 June 2004, and affirmed by the country reports of October 2004 and the final report delivered on 26 September 2006. Bulgaria and Romania signed their Treaty of Accession on 25 April 2005 at a ceremony held at Neumünster Abbey in Luxembourg.

Contents

[edit] List

Flag
 CoA
 Common name
 Official name
 Accession
 Population
 Area (km²)
 Capital
 Special territories
Flag of Austria
Austria Republic of Austria 01995-01-01 1 January 1995 &0000000008340924.0000008,340,924[1] &0000000000083871.00000083,871 Vienna
Flag of Belgium
Belgium Kingdom of Belgium 01957-03-25 25 March 1957 &0000000010584534.00000010,584,534[2] &0000000000030528.00000030,528 Brussels
Flag of Bulgaria
Bulgaria Republic of Bulgaria 02007-01-01 1 January 2007 &0000000007640238.0000007,640,238[3] &0000000000110910.000000110,910 Sofia
Flag of Cyprus
Cyprus Republic of Cyprus 02004-05-01 1 May 2004 &0000000000778700.000000778,700[t 1][4] &0000000000009251.0000009,251[t 1] Nicosia
3 excluded
Flag of the Czech Republic
Czech Republic Czech Republic 02004-05-01 1 May 2004 &0000000010403100.00000010,403,100[5] &0000000000078866.00000078,866 Prague
Flag of Denmark
Denmark Kingdom of Denmark 01973-01-01 1 January 1973 &0000000005482266.0000005,482,266[6] &0000000000043094.00000043,094 Copenhagen
2 excluded
Flag of Estonia
Estonia Republic of Estonia 02004-05-01 1 May 2004 &0000000001340935.0000001,340,935[7] &0000000000045226.00000045,226 Tallinn
Flag of Finland
Finland Republic of Finland 01995-01-01 1 January 1995 &0000000005312415.0000005,312,415[8] &0000000000338145.000000338,145 Helsinki
Flag of France
France French Republic 01957-03-25 25 March 1957 &0000000063753140.00000063,753,140[9][t 3] &0000000000674843.000000674,843 Paris
8 excluded
Flag of Germany
Germany Federal Republic of Germany 01957-03-25 25 March 1957[t 5] &0000000082218000.00000082,218,000[10] &0000000000357050.000000357,050 Berlin
Flag of Greece
Greece Hellenic Republic 01981-01-01 1 January 1981 &0000000011125179.00000011,125,179[11] &0000000000131990.000000131,990 Athens
Flag of Hungary
Hungary Republic of Hungary 02004-05-01 1 May 2004 &0000000010036000.00000010,036,000[12] &0000000000093030.00000093,030 Budapest
Flag of Ireland
Ireland Ireland[t 6] 01973-01-01 1 January 1973 &0000000004339000.0000004,339,000[13] &0000000000070273.00000070,273 Dublin
Flag of Italy
Italy Italian Republic 01957-03-25 25 March 1957 &0000000059619290.00000059,619,290[14] &0000000000301318.000000301,318 Rome
Flag of Latvia
Latvia Republic of Latvia 02004-05-01 1 May 2004 &0000000002266000.0000002,266,000[15] &0000000000064589.00000064,589 Riga
Flag of Lithuania
Lithuania Republic of Lithuania 02004-05-01 1 May 2004 &0000000003357873.0000003,357,873[16] &0000000000065303.00000065,303 Vilnius
Flag of Luxembourg
Luxembourg Grand Duchy of Luxembourg 01957-03-25 25 March 1957 &0000000000483800.000000483,800[17] &0000000000002586.0000002,586 Luxembourg
Flag of Malta
Malta Republic of Malta 02004-05-01 1 May 2004 &0000000000407810.000000407,810[18] &0000000000000316.000000316 Valletta
Flag of the Netherlands
Netherlands Kingdom of the Netherlands[t 7] 01957-03-25 25 March 1957 &0000000016428360.00000016,428,360[19] &0000000000041526.00000041,526 Amsterdam
2 excluded
Flag of Poland
Poland Republic of Poland 02004-05-01 1 May 2004 &0000000038115641.00000038,115,641[20] &0000000000312683.000000312,683 Warsaw
Flag of Portugal
Portugal Portuguese Republic 01986-01-01 1 January 1986 &0000000010599095.00000010,599,095[21] &0000000000092391.00000092,391 Lisbon
Flag of Romania
Romania Romania 02007-01-01 1 January 2007 &0000000021538000.00000021,538,000[22] &0000000000238391.000000238,391 Bucharest
Flag of Slovakia
Slovakia Slovak Republic 02004-05-01 1 May 2004 &0000000005400998.0000005,400,998[23] &0000000000049037.00000049,037 Bratislava
Flag of Slovenia
Slovenia Republic of Slovenia 02004-05-01 1 May 2004 &0000000002025866.0000002,025,866[24] &0000000000020273.00000020,273 Ljubljana
Flag of Spain
Spain Kingdom of Spain 01986-01-01 1 January 1986 &0000000046063511.00000046,063,511[25] &0000000000506030.000000506,030 Madrid
Flag of Sweden
Sweden Kingdom of Sweden 01995-01-01 1 January 1995 &0000000009208034.0000009,208,034[26] &0000000000449964.000000449,964 Stockholm
Flag of the United Kingdom
United Kingdom United Kingdom of Great Britain
and Northern Ireland		 01973-01-01 1 January 1973 &0000000060587300.00000060,587,300[27][t 8] &0000000000244820.000000244,820 London
15 excluded
Flag of Europe – EU-27 European Union total – &0000000497456009.000000497,456,009 &0000000004456304.0000004,456,304 –

[edit] Notes

  1. ^ a b Includes the area (3,355 km²) but not the population (264,172 according to 2006 census) of the territory under control of the unrecognised Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC). The Government of Cyprus estimates the total population at 867,600 including Turkish Cypriots entitled to EU citizenship but excluding TRNC citizens who immigrated from Turkey after the 1974 invasion.
  2. ^ Greenland left the European Community in 1985.
  3. ^ The population figure for France includes the four overseas departments (French Guiana, Guadeloupe, Martinique, and Réunion), which are integral parts of the European Union, but does not include the overseas collectivities and territories, which are not part of the European Union. The population figure for Metropolitan France is 61,875,822.
  4. ^ a b According to European Commission document published in January 2008, p.8: The following are not part of the territory of the European Community: French Polynesia, New Caledonia, Wallis and Futuna, French Southern and Antarctic Lands, Mayotte, Saint Barthelemy, Saint Martin, Saint Pierre and Miquelon (France), Aruba, the Netherlands Antilles (Netherlands), Faroe Islands, Greenland (Denmark), Guernsey, Jersey, the Isle of Man, Akrotiri and Dhekelia (Sovereign Base Areas), Bermuda, the Turks and Caicos Islands, Anguilla, the British Virgin Islands, the Cayman Islands, Montserrat, the Falkland Islands, the Pitcairn Islands, Saint Helena, British Indian Ocean Territory, South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands (United Kingdom) [1]
  5. ^ On 01990-10-03 3 October 1990, the constituent states of the former German Democratic Republic acceded to the Federal Republic of Germany, automatically becoming part of the EU.
  6. ^ The constitutional name of the country is Ireland, not Republic of Ireland. See names of the Irish state.
  7. ^ "Kingdom of the Netherlands" is correct. See this article. However, only Netherlands (the European part) is fully subject to EU law.
  8. ^ The population figure for the United Kingdom includes England, Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland but not the Channel Islands or the overseas territories which are not part of the European Union.

[edit] Enlargement

Main article: Enlargement of the European Union
Further information: Future enlargement of the European Union and Withdrawal from the European Union
Animated map showing the enlargement;     European Communities     European Union
Animated map showing the enlargement;
     European Communities     European Union

Enlargement has been a principal feature of the Union's political landscape. The Union was founded by the "Inner Six", those countries willing to forge ahead with the Community while others remained sceptical. It was but a decade before the first countries changed their policy and attempted to join the Union, which led to the first scepticism of enlargement. French President Charles de Gaulle feared British membership would be an American Trojan horse and vetoed its application. Only after de Gaulle left office did Britian's third application succeed.[28]

Applying with Britain were Ireland, Denmark and Norway. Norway however saw the first rejection of membership, with the electorate voting against it[29] leaving just Ireland and Denmark joining along side the UK.[28] But despite the setbacks, and the withdrawal of Greenland from Denmark's membership in 1985,[30] three more countries would join the Communities before the end of the Cold War.[28] In 1987, the geographical extent of the project was tested when Morocco applied, and was rejected as it was not considered a European country.[31]

1989 saw the Cold War drawing to a close, and East Germany was welcomed into the Community as part of a reunited Germany. Shortly after the previously neutral countries of Austria, Finland and Sweden acceded to the new European Union,[28] though Switzerland, which applied in 2002, froze its application due to opposition from voters[32] while Norway, which had applied once more, had its voters reject membership again.[33]) Meanwhile, the members of the former Eastern bloc and Yugoslavia were all starting to move towards EU membership. 10 of these joined in a "big bang" enlargement on 1 May 2004 symbolising the unification of East and Western Europe in the EU.[34]

2007 saw the latest members, Bulgaria and Romania, accede to the Union and the EU has prioritised membership for the Western Balkans. Croatia, the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia and Turkey are all formal, acknowledged candidates.[35] Turkey, which applied in the 1980s, is a more contentious issue but entered negotiations in 2004 (see Accession of Turkey to the European Union).[36] There are at present no plans to cease enlargement; according to the Copenhagen criteria, membership of the European Union is open to any European country that is a stable, free market liberal democracy that respects the rule of law and human rights. Furthermore, it has to be willing to accept all the obligations of membership such as adopting all previously agreed law and joining the euro.[37]

There are a number of countries with strong links with the EU, similar to elements of membership. Following Norway's failure to join the EU, it became one of the members of the European Economic Area which also includes Iceland and Liechtenstein (all former members have joined the EU and Switzerland rejected membership). The EEA links these countries into the EU's market, extending the four freedoms to these states. In return, they pay a membership fee and have to adopt most areas of EU law (which they do not have direct impact in shaping). The democratic repercussions of this have been described as "fax democracy" (waiting for new laws to be faxed in from Brussels rather than being involved).[38]

A different example is Bosnia and Herzegovina, which has been under international supervision. The High Representative for Bosnia and Herzegovina is an international administrator who has wide ranging powers over Bosnia and Herzegovina to ensure the peace agreement is respected. The High Representative is also the EU's representative, and is in practice appointed by the EU. In this role, and since a major ambition of Bosnia and Herzegovina is to join the EU, the country has become a de facto protectorate of the EU. The EU appointed representative has the power to impose legislation and dismiss elected officials and civil servants, meaning the EU has greater direct control over Bosnia and Herzegovina than its own member states. Indeed the state's flag was inspired by the EU's flag.[39]

[edit] Representation

Each state has representation in the institutions of the European Union. Full membership gives the government of a member state a seat in the Council of the European Union and European Council. When decisions are not being taken by consensus, votes are weighted so that a country with a greater population has more votes within the Council than a smaller country (although not exact, smaller countries have more votes than their population would allow relative to the largest countries).

Similarly, each state is assigned seats in Parliament according to their population. However, members of the European Parliament have been elected by universal suffrage since 1979 (before which they were seconded from national parliaments), rather than being appointed by governments. Governments do however appoint one member each to the European Commission (in accord with its president), the European Court of Justice (in accord with other members) and the Court of Auditors.

Historically, larger member states were granted an extra Commissioner. However, as the body grew, this right has been removed and each state is represented equally. Yet the largest states are granted an Advocates General in the Court of Justice. Finally, the governing of the European Central Bank is made up of the governors of each national central bank (who may or may not be government appointed).

The larger states traditionally carry more weight in negotiations, however smaller states can be effective impartial mediators and citizens of smaller states are often appointed to sensitive top posts to avoid competition between the larger states.

[edit] Sovereignty

The founding treaties state that all member states are indivisibly sovereign and of equal value. However the EU does follow a supranational system (similar to federalism) in European Community matters, in that combined sovereignty is delegated by each member to the institutions in return for representation within those institutions. Those institutions are then empowered to make laws and execute them at a European level. If a state fails to comply with the law of the European Union, it may be fined or have funds withdrawn. In extreme cases, there are provisions for the voting rights or membership of a state to be suspended. On issues outside the European Community (foreign policy, police and courts) less sovereignty is transferred, with issues being dealt with by consensus and cooperation.

However, as sovereignty still originates from the national level, it may be withdrawn by a member state who wishes to leave. Hence, if a law is agreed that is not to the liking of a state, it may withdraw from the EU to avoid it. This however has not happened as the benefits of membership are often seen to outweigh any negative impact of certain laws. Furthermore, in realpolitik, concessions and political pressure may lead to a state accepting something not in their interests in order to improve relations and hence strengthen their position on other issues.

[edit] See also

v • d • e
Member states of the European Union
Member states by accession · by political system · by population · by GDP

[edit] References

  1. ^ "Bevölkerung zu Quartalsbeginn seit 2002 nach Staatsangehörigkeit und Bundesländern" (in German). Statistik Austria (2008-04-01). Retrieved on 2008-07-30.
  2. ^ "Structure de la population" (in French). Statistics Belgium (2007-01-01). Retrieved on 2008-07-30.
  3. ^ "Population and demographic processes in 2007". National Statistical Institute, Bulgaria (31 December 2007). Retrieved on 2008-07-30.
  4. ^ "“Demographic Report” for 2006". Statistical Service of the Republic of Cyprus (20 June 2007). Retrieved on 2008-07-30. "The population in the Government controlled area is estimated at 778,7 thousands at the end of 2006"
  5. ^ "People and Society: Population". Czech Statistical Office (31 March 2008). Retrieved on 2008-07-30.
  6. ^ "Quarterly Population (ultimo)". Statistics Denmark (1 January 2008). Retrieved on 2008-07-30.
  7. ^ "Most requested statistics". Statistics Estonia (1 January 2008). Retrieved on 2008-07-30.
  8. ^ "Den preliminära folkmängden i Finland 5 312 415 i slutet av juni" (in Swedish). Statistics Finland (30 June 2008). Retrieved on 2008-07-30.
  9. ^ "Population totale par sexe et âge au 1er janvier 2008, France entière" (in French). INSEE (1 January 2008). Retrieved on 2008-07-30.
  10. ^ Federal Statistical Office of Germany (26 June 2008). "2007: Smaller population despite more births". Press release. Retrieved on 2008-07-30. “According to provisional results, Germany had about 82,218,000 inhabitants on 31 December 2007”
  11. ^ "Greece estimated population by sex and region" (PDF). National Statistical Service of Greece (1 January 2006). Retrieved on 2008-07-30.
  12. ^ "Major indicators". Hungarian Central Statistical Office (30 April 2008). Retrieved on 2008-07-30.
  13. ^ "Population and Migration Estimates April 2007 (with revisions to April 2003 to April 2006)" (PDF). Central Statistics Office (Ireland) (18 December 2007). Retrieved on 2008-07-30.
  14. ^ "Bilancio Demografico e popolazione residente per sesso al 31 dicembre 2007". Istituto Nazionale di Statistica (31 December 2007). Retrieved on 2008-07-30.
  15. ^ "Population and main data of vital statistics". Central Statistical Bureau of Latvia (1 July 2007). Retrieved on 2008-07-30.
  16. ^ "M3010101: Number of persons by month". Statistics Lithuania (1 July 2008). Retrieved on 2008-07-30.
  17. ^ "Recensement de la population" (in French). Statec (1 January 2008). Retrieved on 2008-07-30.
  18. ^ (13 January 2008) Demographic Review 2006. Valletta: National Statistics Office, Malta. ISBN 9789990973563. Retrieved on 2008-07-30. 
  19. ^ "Main indicators of the Netherlands". Statistics Netherlands (1 May 2008). Retrieved on 2008-07-30.
  20. ^ "Population by sex, economical age groups and region (NUTS 1) in 2007" (PDF) (May 2008). Population. Size and structure by territorial division (As of December 31, 2007): p.11, Table 1. Warsaw: Central Statistical Office, Poland. ISSN 1734-6118. Retrieved on 2008-07-30. 
  21. ^ "Estimativas de População Residente". Statistics Portugal (31 December 2006). Retrieved on 2008-07-30.
  22. ^ "Romania: Economic and Financial Data". National Institute of Statistics (Romania) (1 July 2007). Retrieved on 2008-07-30.
  23. ^ "Population: Slovak Republic". Statistical Office of the Slovak Republic (31 December 2007). Retrieved on 2008-07-30.
  24. ^ "Population, Slovenia, 31 December 2007". Statistical Office of the Republic of Slovenia (31 March 2007). Retrieved on 2008-07-30.
  25. ^ "Estimate of the Municipal Register at 1 January 2008" (PDF). Instituto Nacional de Estadística (Spain) (1 January 2008). Retrieved on 2008-07-30.
  26. ^ "Preliminär befolkningsstatistik 2008" (in Swedish). Statistics Sweden (31 May 2008). Retrieved on 2008-07-30.
  27. ^ "Population Estimates: UK population grows to 60.6 million". Office for National Statistics (30 June 2006). Retrieved on 2008-07-30.
  28. ^ a b c d "Britain shut out". BBC News (2002). Retrieved on 2008-08-25.
  29. ^ European Commission (10 November 2005). "The History of the European Union: 1972". Retrieved on 2006-01-18.
  30. ^ European Commission (10 November 2005). "1985". The History of the European Union. Retrieved on 2006-01-18.
  31. ^ "W. Europe Bloc Bars Morocco as a Member". Los Angeles Times (21 July 1987). Retrieved on 2008-08-25.
  32. ^ British Embassy, Berne (4 July 2006). "EU and Switzerland". The UK & Switzerland. Retrieved on 2006-07-04.
  33. ^ European Commission (10 November 2005). "The History of the European Union : 1994". Retrieved on 2006-01-18.
  34. ^ "History of the European Union". Europa (web portal). Retrieved on 2008-08-25.
  35. ^ "Enlargement- Countries". Europa (web portal). Retrieved on 2008-08-25.
  36. ^ "Q&A: Turkey's EU entry talks". BBC News (11 December 2006). Retrieved on 2008-08-25.
  37. ^ "Accession criteria". Europa (web portal). Retrieved on 2008-08-25.
  38. ^ Ekman, Ivar (27 October 2007). "In Norway, EU pros and cons (the cons still win)". International Herald Tribune. Retrieved on 2008-08-30.
  39. ^ Chandler, David (20 April 2006). "Bosnia: whose state is it anyway?". Spiked Politics. Retrieved on 2008-08-30.

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