Medianews.az has reviewed the list of countries aspiring to join the European Union, which unites 27 countries.
9 countries have candidate status for membership in the organization: Turkey, North Macedonia, Montenegro, Serbia, Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Moldova, Ukraine, Georgia.
Membership negotiations with Turkey have been frozen, Bosnia and Herzegovina and Georgia have not yet started the process, and negotiations with the remaining countries are ongoing.
Kosovo has applied for membership in the union, and Armenia also intends to do so.
The European Union was established in 1957 by Belgium, France, Italy, West Germany, Luxembourg, and the Netherlands as the European Economic Community.
In 1973, the United Kingdom, Denmark, and Ireland joined the European Economic Community; in 1981, Greece; in 1986, Spain and Portugal joined.
In 1990, East Germany and West Germany unified into a single German state.
In 1992, the European Union was founded on the basis of the European Economic Community.
In 1995, Austria, Finland, and Sweden were admitted to the European Union.
In 2004, the Czech Republic, Estonia, Cyprus, Latvia, Lithuania, Hungary, Malta, Poland, Slovakia, and Slovenia joined the European Union.
Bulgaria and Romania have been members of the European Union since 2007, Croatia since 2013.
The United Kingdom left the European Union in 2020.