Enlargement of the European Union
The Copenhagen European Council held in June 1993 spelt out the conditions for EU membership known as the Copenhagen Criteria. These require that candidate countries fulfill political and econmic criteria as well as the acquis criterion.
Read more: The Copenhagen Criteria
Since 1 January 2007 the IPA has replaced the previous pre-accession instruments PHARE (Poland and Hungary Action for the Reconstruction of the Economy), ISPA (Instrument for Structural Policies for Pre-accession), SAPARD (Special Accession Programme for Agriculture and Rural Development) and the financial instrument CARDS (Community Assistance for Reconstruction, Development and Stabilization). This means the EU's assistance in the area of enlargement is now delivered through one single instrument.
Read more: Helping countries prepare for accession
At its meeting on 15/16 December 2005 the European Council granted candidate country status to the former Yugoslav Republic (FYR) of Macedonia. The Council took this decision on the basis notably of the progress the country had made in implementing the Ohrid Framework Agreement and the Stabilization and Association Agreement (SAA).
Read more: Accession candidate Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia
The new Icelandic Government has initiated the country’s accession to the EU. The number of people in favour of joining the EU has risen considerably during the last year in Iceland, which has been hit hard by the economic crisis. The German Government has always been in favour of Iceland’s membership of the EU.
Read more: Iceland's application for EU membership
Since the Feira European Council (June 2000) all Western Balkan countries (Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, Montenegro, Serbia and Kosovo) have held the status of "potential accession candidates" (confirmed in Thessaloniki in June 2003). Croatia and the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia were granted "candidate country" status, and accession negotiations with Croatia have already begun.
Read more: The Stabilization and Association Process (SAP)
