European Union representation within those institutions, a practice often referred to as "pooling of sovereignty". To become a member, a country must meet the Copenhagen criteria, defined at the 1993 meeting of the European Council in Copenhagen. These require a stable democracy that respects human rights and the rule of law; a functioning market economy; and the acceptance of the obligations of membership, including EU law. Evaluation of a country's fulfilment of the criteria is the responsibility of the European Council. No member state has yet left the Union, although Greenland (an autonomous province of Denmark) withdrew in 1985. Article 50 of
Basque Country (autonomous community) designer; Cristóbal Balenciaga, fashion designer; Xabi Alonso and Mikel Arteta, footballers; Edurne Pasaban, first woman to climb all of the fourteen eight-thousander peaks in the World; Elena Arzak, best female chef in the world (2012); Jon Kortajarena male model; Jose-Maria Cundin, artist; Fernando Savater philosopher; Miguel de Unamuno, essayist, novelist, poet, playwright, philosopher. Basque Country (autonomous community) The Basque Country (; ; ; ), officially the Basque Autonomous Community (, EAE; , CAV) is an autonomous community in northern Spain. It includes the Basque provinces of Álava, Biscay, and Gipuzkoa. The Basque Country or Basque Autonomous Community was granted the