Countries outside the European Union on the map. European Union. History of formation. European Union - regional integration of European states

Today, most European powers are united into a single community called the Eurozone. On their territory there is a single commodity market, a visa-free regime, and a common currency (euro) has been introduced. To understand which countries are currently part of the European Union and what its development trends are, it is necessary to turn to history.

Currently the EU includes (the year of accession is indicated in brackets):

• Austria (1995)
• Belgium (1957)
• Bulgaria (2007)
• UK (1973)
• Hungary (2004)
• Germany (1957)
• Greece (1981)
• Denmark (1973)
• Ireland (1973)
• Spain (1986)
• Italy (1957)
• Cyprus (2004)
• Latvia (2004)
• Lithuania (2004)
• Luxembourg (1957)
• Malta (2004)
• Netherlands (1957)
• Poland (2004)
• Slovakia (2004)
• Slovenia (2004)
• Portugal (1986)
• Romania (2007)
• Finland (1995)
• France (1957)
• Croatia (2013)
• Czech Republic (2004)
• Sweden (1995)
• Estonia (2004)

Map of the European Union for 2020. Click to enlarge.

Historical facts

For the first time, proposals for European integration were voiced back in the 19th century (1867) at the Paris Conference. But due to deep and fundamental contradictions between the powers, it took almost 100 years for the matter to reach practical implementation. During this time, European states had to go through many local and 2 world wars. Only after the end of the Second World War, these ideas began to be discussed again and gradually put into practice. This is explained by the fact that the EU member countries realized that the rapid and effective restoration of national economies, as well as their further development, can only be carried out by pooling resources and efforts. This is clearly evidenced by the chronology of the development of the European Community.

The start of the creation of a new association was the proposal of R. Schumann (head of the French Ministry of Foreign Affairs) about its organization in the field of use and production of steel and coal, combining the natural reserves of Germany and France. This happened on 05/09/1950. In 1951, a document on the creation of the ECSC was signed in the capital of France. In addition to the above-mentioned powers, it was signed by: Luxenburg, the Netherlands, Belgium, Italy.

At the beginning of 1957, the powers that are part of the ECSC signed two more treaties establishing the European EuroAtom communities, as well as the EEC. Three years later the EFTA Association was also created.

1963 - The foundation of associated relations between the community itself and Africa is laid. This allowed the 18 republics of the continent to fully enjoy for 5 years all the benefits of cooperation with the EEC (financial, technical, trade).

1964 - creation of a single agricultural market. At the same time, FEOGA began its activities to support the agricultural sector.

1968 - the end of the formation of the Customs Union.

Beginning of 1973 - the list of EU countries is replenished: Great Britain, Denmark, Ireland.

1975 - The EU and 46 countries from different parts of the globe sign a convention on trade cooperation, called the Lo Mei Convention.

1979 - introduction of EMU.

1981 - Greece joins the EU.

1986 - Spain and Portugal join.

In 1990, the Schengen Agreement was adopted.

1992 - signing of the Maastricht Treaty.

November 1, 1993 - official renaming to the European Union.

1995 - entry of Sweden, Finland, Austria.

1999 - introduction of the non-cash euro.

2002 - the euro is introduced for cash payments.

2004 - another EU expansion: Cyprus, Malta, Estonia, Lithuania, Latvia, Slovenia, Czech Republic, Slovakia, Hungary, Poland.

2007 - Romania and Bulgaria joined.

2013 - Croatia becomes the 28th EU member.

The development process of the Eurozone has not been and is not going smoothly all the time. For example, at the end of 1985, Greenland, which had previously joined Denmark, left it, but after gaining independence, the citizens of the state made the appropriate decision. In 2016, a referendum was held in the UK, in which the majority of the population (almost 52%) voted to terminate membership. At the time of writing, the British were in the early stages of leaving the union.

Today on the map of the Eurozone you can see states and islands that are not geographically part of Europe. This is explained by the fact that they were automatically annexed along with the other states to which they belong.

As the current situation in the world shows, countries that are members of the European Union today have different views on their membership in it and general development prospects, especially in light of recent events related to the UK’s decision.

Entry Criteria

European countries that are not members of the European Union, but wish to become members, must take into account that there are certain criteria that they must meet. You can find out more detailed information about them from a special document called the “Copenhagen Criteria”. Important attention here is paid to:

• principles of democracy;
• human rights;
• development of economic competitiveness.

All important political decisions taken by EU member states must be agreed upon.

To join this community, each applicant is tested for compliance with the Copenhagen Criteria. Based on the results of the check, a decision is made about the power’s readiness to add to this list or to wait a little longer.

If the decision is negative, then a list of parameters and criteria must be drawn up that should be brought back to normal within a specified time frame. Compliance with the instructions is constantly monitored. After bringing the parameters back to normal, another study is carried out and then a conclusion is drawn whether the power is ready or not for membership.

The euro is considered the common currency in the Eurozone, but not all EU members adopted it on their territory in 2020. Of the 9 countries, Denmark and Great Britain have a special status, Sweden also does not recognize the euro as its national currency, but may change this attitude in the near future, and 6 more powers are just preparing for introduction.

Contenders

If you look at which countries are members of the European Union, and who is currently a candidate to join its ranks, then one can well expect an expansion of the association; to date, 5 candidates have been officially announced: Albania, Turkey, Serbia, Macedonia, and Montenegro. Among the potential ones we can highlight Bosnia and Herzegovina. There are also contenders among states located on other continents that previously signed an association agreement: Chile, Lebanon, Egypt, Israel, Jordan, Mexico, South Africa and others.

Economic activity and its basic principles

Current economic activity on the territory of the European Union as a whole consists of the economies of individual states that are part of the association. But despite this, each country on the international market is an independent unit. The total GDP consists of the contributed shares of each participating power. gives the right to live and work throughout the commonwealth.

The largest percentage of income over the past years has been brought by countries such as Germany, Spain, Great Britain, Italy and France. The main strategic resources are oil products, gas, and coal. In terms of petroleum product reserves, the EU ranks 14th in the world.

Another significant source of income is tourism. This is facilitated by a visa-free regime, vibrant trade relations and a single currency.

By analyzing which states are members of the European Union and who is a candidate for membership, one can make various forecasts. But in any case, the integration of economies will continue in the near future and most likely powers located on other continents will be involved.

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The European Union is an association of states that interact with each other on a democratic basis and carry out joint activities in various fields.

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EU member states have common governing bodies that ensure decision-making at a single level. Let's look at the list of members of the European Union in 2020.

History of the EU

As a result of two world wars, the heads of European countries came to a general agreement that in order to ensure development and stability on the European continent it is necessary to unite their efforts.

The negotiations began with the proposal of the French Minister Schumann in 1950 to combine the coal and foundry industries of the French state and Germany.

In 1951, an agreement was signed on the unification of the coal and steel industries, the participants of which were Germany, Belgium, Luxembourg, France, Italy and the Netherlands.

Having achieved success, these states continued their cooperation in the future. Further, in 1957, the EEC and the European Atomic Energy Community were approved by the Rome Agreement.

These associations set as their main goal the formation of a community in the customs field and the annulment of all trade bans within the association, peaceful cooperation in the nuclear field.

In 1967, the executive authorities of 3 associations merged, which resulted in the formation of the main structure, where the main bodies were the European Commission, the Council, the Parliament and the Court.

The next step in the history of the EU can be considered the formation of the Maastricht Agreement in 1992, the basis of which was the identification of three basic levels of the EU - the European Community and interstate interaction in the political and security spheres, the legal framework.

A few years later, an Intergovernmental Meeting was held in Turin in 1996, resulting in the signing of the Amsterdam Agreement in the summer of 1997.

With the advent of the new millennium, the main goals of the EU are to improve areas of interaction and increase the number of new participants, with the countries of central and eastern Europe considered a priority.

States that are part of the European Union table

In 1992, the EU states officially united, and the list of participating countries gradually increased.

As of today, their number is 28. Let us list the countries that are members of the European Union at the beginning of 2020.

During the entire existence of the European Union, not a single state has left its membership. The only exception is Greenland, which left the EU due to a reduction in fishing quotas in 1985.

Also in the summer of 2016, a vote was held in the UK, where the majority of citizens supported leaving the EU. Consequently, there are still certain disagreements within the union.

What do you need to join?

The relevant standards have been approved that must be met in order to be part of the EU. The conditions for accession are mentioned in Article 49 of the EU agreement.

The criteria for potential EU members were established in 1993 in Copenhagen, and then they were confirmed in 1995 in Madrid at a meeting of the EU Council.

The main conditions of membership are:

If a state does not pass the test for compliance with the specified criteria, EU authorities draw up a list of requirements that help bring all indicators back to normal.

In the process of carrying out reforms in potential candidate states, the EU exercises its control.

When all the necessary criteria reach the established level, the EU holds a meeting to decide on the possibility of including the country in the European Union.

Features of economic activity

In the European Union, economic and monetary policies are intertwined and can only function together.

The main goal of economic policy is to create favorable conditions for business activities and relationships with EU citizens.

An important component of this is a unified financial system and monetary policy.

Along with this, a single currency unit is not able to function when the level of inflation and interest rates in states differ to a large extent.

For this purpose, the leadership of the European Union is developing a joint economic direction for development and regulation of important economic indicators at the level of the European Union.

Important features of economic activity are regulation of price levels, inflation, financial and credit operations, tourism, implementation of mining, etc.

In the event that one of the EU member states does not adhere to the course of economic development, the EU Council has the right to approve measures in relation to this country and monitor the process of their implementation.

The EU economy includes the economies of all member countries. At the same time, in the international space it is represented by a separate mechanism.

The EU regulates all disagreements between its members and protects their interests in the global space. All members of the European Union contribute to the overall income of the community through their gross domestic product and overall economic performance.

The largest share of profits comes from Germany, Italy, France, Spain and the UK. A special EU body keeps records of revenues from each state individually.

Taking into account all components of economic activity, it is possible to determine the volume of natural resources in a particular country.

Possible candidates for membership

Most countries on the European continent are striving to join the European Union. Currently, the official applicants are Serbia, Turkey, Montenegro, Macedonia and Albania.

Bosnia and Herzegovina are also possible contenders. Many states are not included in the circle of likely candidates for membership because they do not meet the stated criteria.

Video: comparing countries

Some countries have signed an association agreement with the EU, not only European states and countries of other continents.

In 2014, Ukraine and Moldova expressed their intention to join the European Union. Analyzing the process of joining the EU, one can notice that the European Union aims to take into account countries of other continents, considering their possible participation in the union.

The idea of ​​forming a community of European countries appeared after the Great Patriotic War. At the official level, the countries of the European Union united together in 1992, when the corresponding agreement was signed.

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The list of EU member countries has regularly expanded, and today there are about 28 countries. Let's take a closer look at the EU participants and the system as a whole.

What is the European Union

European countries that have joined the Union have state sovereignty and independence.

Moreover, each has:

• personal national language of communication;
• personal executive authorities, not only local, but also central.

Despite this, they have a lot in common. In particular, there are specific requirements that countries must comply with, including the adoption of key policy issues in strict agreement with other EU states.

Countries that have expressed a desire to become a full member of the European Union will be forced to prove their adherence to the basic principles of the treaty and European values, in particular:

• democracy;
• providing human rights protection;
• principles of free market trade in a modern economy.

The European Union also has personal self-government bodies, in particular:

• general parliament - it includes representatives of all states;
• general judicial body;
• a general commission to resolve various issues;
• spending control coalition.

Thanks to the general legislation of those countries that are included in the European Union, we can confidently talk about the formation of a single market.

Most of them use a single monetary unit - the euro - in the process of their life.

Moreover, many countries of the European Union are part of the Schengen zone, which provides the opportunity for civilians to travel to all EU countries without any difficulties.

The entire list of states today (table)

In 2020, the list of EU countries that are included at the official level is as follows:

These are the countries that are part of the European community. In addition, there are several more countries that are just applying to join the community.

Among them are:

1. Serbia.
2. Montenegro.
3. Macedonia.
4. Turkey.
5. Albania.

Recently, Ukraine has also been applying to join the EU, but taking into account the political and economic situation, there can still be no talk of full membership.

It is necessary to pay attention to the fact that a special map of the European Union has been developed, thanks to which you can visually study the geography.

The economic activities of the powers that are included in the European Union contain much in common.

In particular, we are talking about the fact that the economy of each individual country is completely independent, but at the same time they all must contribute specific shares, from which the overall GDP is formed.

Additionally, it is necessary to pay attention to the implementation of the Customs Union policy in the European Union.

This allows us to say that full EU members can trade with other members without any specific restrictions and at the same time without duties.

It is important to remember that in the case of other states that are not full members of the EU, uniform customs tariffs are established.

In addition, it is necessary to pay attention to the fact that during the entire period of validity of the association agreement, no one has yet terminated the agreement.

The only exception is Greenland. This Danish autonomy with significant powers, back in 1985, decided to exclude itself from membership in the Union.

This was largely a consequence of lower fishing quotas. One of the latest high-profile world events was the holding of a referendum on the UK leaving the EU back in June 2016, when the majority of the local population voted for it.

However, in fact. The UK remains a full member of the EU, and this has become a reason to begin solving numerous existing problems.

Requirements for candidates for entry

To be able to become a full member of the Union in question, it is extremely important to fully comply with the stated criteria, which are reflected in international law, referred to as the “Copenhagen Requirements”.

The so-called etymology of documentation is dictated by the place of its formation. The requirements for potential applicants were developed and adopted in Copenhagen back in 1993 during the meeting of the European Council.

The main list of requirements that are extremely important to comply with includes:

In most cases, potential applicants for membership in the European Union are subject to extensive verification, based on the results of which an appropriate decision is made.

In this situation, there is a need to eliminate identified inconsistencies as quickly as possible.

Only in this case is it possible to re-submit applications and count on full members of the European Union.

As practice shows, it can take years or even decades to correct identified inconsistencies.

Prospects for Adoption

The process of globalization covers more and more spheres of life every year. Moreover, there are no exceptions for both large and small countries.

Thanks to the increased interaction of peoples and continents as a whole, we can talk about the maximum intensification of competition.

This is very difficult to achieve if you act alone, which is why territorial associations have been and are being formed at all times, some of them being achieved by major players at the global level.

According to the indicators of economic development, states that are full members of the European Union are considered to be exactly such players.

In particular, we are talking about the 19th century, when some European countries made repeated attempts to form such unions.

But the presence at that time of numerous contradictions and the lack of a sufficient level of competition among other countries did not make it possible to implement such plans.

Video: Initial Aspects

Using the experience of past years, the countries of Asia have become significantly stronger in the modern world, as well as the direct competitor of the EU, America, which is why the question of connection and unity was again raised among the leaders of European states.

Today, the unstable military and political situation around the world only suggests that many countries have plans to become full members of the EU, since in this case they can count on increasing the personal defense capability and integrity of their state.

The countries of the European Union did not immediately count the number in which they are represented today. The union expanded gradually thanks to common goals and worldviews.

European Union countries - sounds proud

Europe, as a geographical location, has concentrated quite a lot of countries, or rather, all the countries of the European Union, which differ from other states in their individual high development in absolutely all directions. At the moment, the countries of the European Union 2016 are 28 independent states with their own diverse focus. Back in 1992, the EU countries determined for themselves main goals, which should positively affect not only the growth rate of each EU country in 2016, but also other countries in the world.

Full list of EU countries 2016:

Based on which countries are members of the European Union, you can roughly formulate the main positions of this union. But you should not confuse the countries of the European Union and the Schengen zone, although most states can be found in both. For example, having a Schengen visa, it is impossible to cross the border of such EU countries as: Bulgaria, Cyprus, Great Britain, Romania and Ireland. A Schengen countries Iceland, Norway and Switzerland, in turn, are not members of the European Union in 2016.

Why there was a goal to unite the countries of the European Union 2016

The idea of ​​creating a list of EU countries in 2014 arose immediately after the end of World War II. The countries of the European Union were supposed to be exclusively capitalist in nature. The countries belonging to the European Union began to unite looking at the created NATO, the Soviet Union and the Council of Europe.

At first, the EU countries pursued a purely economic goal and declared themselves a coal and metallurgical association in 1951 in Luxembourg. But already 1957 presented the countries of the European Union as states nuclear powered. It was 1957 that became the primary reason for the creation of the modern European Union.

Since 1951, today's countries of the European Union 2014 have been “growing up” gradually. With the entry of each state, the union became stronger and stronger. As a result, the countries of the European Union began to play a significant role in foreign relations in 2013; they began to adopt common laws and regulations. The countries of the European Union, the list of which is presented above, have become powerful political and economic association with its own unique strategy and views on current events in the world.

1973 is the time when Great Britain decided to join the European Union, followed by Denmark and Ireland.

1981 was the year Greece rejoined the union.

1986 became a landmark year for countries such as Portugal and Spain.

1995 was the year of the unification of the former European Union with Sweden, Austria and Finland.

2004 - the accession of Malta and Cyprus, as well as those countries that were in the past socialist camps and former Soviet republics: Latvia, Lithuania, Estonia, Poland, Hungary, Slovakia, the Czech Republic, Slovenia.

Romania and Bulgaria joined the European Union in 2007, followed by Croatia in 2013.

Now knowing for sure what countries are in the European Union today, we can say that the population here is 500 million people. Of the existing 28 states, 17 of them have entered the Eurozone, where the euro is considered the formal sole currency.

EU COUNTRIES. LIST OF EUROPEAN UNION COUNTRIES 2016.