Which former Yugoslav state will become the 28th member of the European Union on July 1st this year ?
2013 enlargement of the European Union 2013 enlargement of the European Union The 2013 enlargement of the European Union saw Croatia join the European Union as its 28th member state on 1 July 2013. The country applied for EU membership in 2003, and the European Commission recommended making it an official candidate in early 2004. Candidate country status was granted to Croatia by the European Council in mid-2004. The entry negotiations, while originally set for March 2005, began in October that year together with the screening process. The accession process of Croatia was complicated by the insistence of Slovenia, an EU member state, that the two
Member state of the European Union free movement rights that full membership allows. The term is almost unheard of in the modern context and was primarily used in the earlier days of the EU with countries such as Greece and Turkey. Turkey's association agreement was the 1963 Ankara Agreement, implying that Turkey became an associate member that year. Present association agreements include the Stabilisation and Association Agreements with the western Balkans; these states are no longer termed "associate members". Member state of the European Union The European Union (EU) consists of 28 member states. Each member state is party to the founding treaties of the union