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
Greenland–European Union relations The EU is Greenland's main trading partner. However, Greenland ranks as the EU's 103rd largest trading partner. In 2009 the EU put in place an import ban on seal fur on grounds on animal cruelty, but made exemptions for Inuit communities in Greenland and Canada in order to protect their way of life. The ban only allows small scale hunts for population control and local circulation – produce is not allowed to enter the EU. The ban angered those communities in the Arctic Circle who depend on sales from large scale seal hunting. Greenland is one of the Overseas Countries