Countries that are members of the European Union. The history of the creation of the European Union and the list of countries included in it. Gradation of European countries by years of accession to the EU

The world has changed for European Union It was in 2016. This year, the trends that were gaining strength gradually, which were not paid attention for a long time, were manifested with all their brightness: the “rebellion” of the middle class, the crisis of the legitimacy of power at all levels. In foreign policy - self-doubt and mistrust between the allies. Now main question: Will the European Union be able to survive or will it repeat the fate of the USSR?

On internal development The EU in 2016 was influenced by the following factors: the ongoing Greek debt crisis; (Brexit and the rise of the far right).

In the external dimension, the following factors have become the most important for the EU: the weakening and absence of a positive dialogue in relations with Russia (the continuation of the sanctions epic); loss of confidence in the traditional ally in the face of the United States in connection with the presidency. Since the United States from the very beginning, the lack of confidence in their support is a sensitive blow for the Brussels bureaucrats.

Inside and outside the EU, the project of a united Europe is no longer perceived as the only true one.

For example, citizens of the Netherlands, not out of fear of immigrants from of Eastern Europe, but wishing to demonstrate distrust of their own government.

Thus, in 2016, an existential threat arose to the future of the European Union.

1. Immigration "tribute" of the European Union

EU attempts to resolve the migration crisis have proved controversial. In March 2016, the European Union entered into an agreement with Turkey, providing it with €3 billion and promising similar tranches in the future. Now Erdogan can periodically blackmail the EU, demanding the abolition of visas and threatening new flows of refugees.

Interestingly, the European Union followed the same path in relations with African countries. A partnership agreement was proposed with five priority African countries: Ethiopia, Mali, Niger, Nigeria, Senegal. The agreement provides for the payment of a total amount of €44 billion to these countries, but does not say anything specific about the system for accepting refugees in the EU.

In the migration issue, the position of the EU is obviously losing, as it turns out to be in the role of a petitioner.

Therefore, it is not surprising that several EU countries (Germany, Austria, Sweden and Denmark) themselves have tried to solve the problem by establishing temporary border controls, which, however, in the current situation may well become permanent.

It is not clear how many immigrants are currently in the EU. According to the International Organization for Migration (IOM), about 400,000 people have arrived in Europe since January 2016.

Most of them came to Greece and Italy (primarily Syrians, Afghans, Pakistanis, Nigerians). According to IOM, more migrants died in the Mediterranean in 2016 than in 2015 (4.22 thousand and 3.78 thousand people, respectively).

As a result, the question arose again about and whether the EU countries are able to integrate minorities.

2. Security crisis

The manifestation of the crisis in the system of governance and security issues were the terrorist attacks that shocked the citizens of the EU. It became clear that 2015, the record year for the number of terrorist attacks in the EU (211 terrorist attacks were recorded), did not teach us anything.

In 2016, the attacks became especially daring and large-scale. Thus, in the EU capital, Brussels, on March 22, 2016, two terrorist attacks were committed: at the airport and at the central metro station. Total number the dead amounted to 35 people, 300 people. were injured. On July 14, 2016, another terrorist attack took place in Nice, where more than 80 people were killed. And just recently, on December 22 at a fair in Berlin, 12 people died as a result of a terrorist attack.

The terrorists traveled between European capitals and the territory occupied by ISIS, practically unhindered, without encountering additional checks from the relevant EU services.

In connection with this failure, in April 2016, the EU decided to collect all data on air passengers, moving around the EU, so that they are available everywhere. Unfortunately, this decision is obviously belated and now there is no need to expect much progress here.

After the November attacks, the EU, at the request of France, drew attention to Article 42.7 of the Lisbon Joint Defense Treaty, according to which other member states should help each other. But in fact, partner countries perceive this article more as a need to show political solidarity, rather than provide effective assistance - there are no well-established mechanisms for this.

3. Populists on the march

The turn towards far-right populism has also contributed to general environment uncertainty in the European Union. The far right made significant progress in 2016. Now the population of many EU countries does not perceive them as marginalized.

Perhaps the most talked about example of their success was Norbert Hofer, head of the Austrian Freedom Party. Although he ended up losing the presidential race, this loss can be called an amazing victory, since he was only slightly behind A. Van der Bellen, former leader the green parties. N. Hofer himself called the election results not a loss, but an investment in the future.

The agenda of far-right parties across the EU is almost identical: sovereignty of the country, restriction of immigration, containment or even rejection of European integration, anti-Muslim rhetoric.

The rhetoric of Islamophobia has led to high-profile litigation weight. In Holland, the well-known nationalist politician Geert Wilders was tried, and in Germany, the ideologist of the anti-Islamic movement PEGIDA, Lutz Bachmann.

The far-right gladly accepted by declaring that he reaffirms their attitude to state sovereignty.

Brexit has become an instrument of party-political struggle within the entire EU, in which the extreme right has become one of the leading forces in terms of its degree of influence.

In addition, in the EU of 2016, we observed an increase in the manifestation of nationalism in all forms, up to chauvinism and racism. It is no coincidence that even in tolerant Britain, within a week after the EU membership referendum, 57 cases of crimes motivated by racial hatred were recorded.

4. Britain strikes

By far the biggest blow to the attractiveness and image of the EU was Brexit. If the European Union leaves one of the most successful member states, which is the second economy in Europe after Germany, and the third donor state for the budget of the entire EU after Germany and France, this means clearly expressed dissatisfaction with the common European policy.

Brexit also affects the external dimension of EU policy, as the US always trusts an alliance with Britain more than an alliance without it.

Reflecting on the very procedure of "divorce", which will begin, according to British Prime Minister Theresa May, at the end of March 2019, the British expert community believes that the choice is exclusively between "difficult" (loss of Britain's access to the EU single market) and " easy” (preserving access to the single market and British obligations to the EU budget) “divorce”.

5. Reducing the international role of the EU

In the external dimension, 2016 showed a decrease in the role of the EU as an international player.

Brussels did not want to change its position on sanctions against Russia, although they turned out to be ineffective. At the same time, many sectors of the EU countries found themselves in plight. According to the Danish journalist Poul Funder Larsen, the direct losses of Europe from anti-Russian sanctions are 7 times higher than those of the United States (the EU lost €5.1 billion in exports), and the indirect costs led to the fact that the EU missed €45.6 billion. However, on December 19, 2016, the EU officially extended anti-Russian sanctions until July 31, 2017, linking them to the implementation of the Minsk agreements and the settlement of the Ukrainian crisis.

However, the EU has not taken any effective measures to resolve it. After the referendum in the Netherlands, the EU is still inclined to grant visa-free entry to the citizens of Ukraine in the EU countries, however exact date the introduction of this right is not yet known, despite press reports about April 2017.

On the Syrian crisis, the EU also failed to demonstrate its viability. From the very beginning of the participation of the Russian Aerospace Forces in military operation In Syria, the EU declared its condemnation of the actions of Bashar al-Assad and his allies, primarily Russia and Iran, calling on the parties to the conflict to implement the plan developed by the EU.

The last straw was the election of D. Trump to the presidency, from whom Brussels officials do not expect anything positive for themselves.

Future of the European Union

In 2016, numerous cracks within the EU have not been ironed out. At the same time, the income gap between the rich countries of the North and the poor countries of the South has not been overcome and, on the contrary, has grown.

The situation is complicated by the fact that the population of the EU countries is steadily aging, this is especially noticeable against the background of immigration from Africa and the Middle East. In the context of growing terrorist threats, this requires new financial solutions regarding humanitarian crises and even possible humanitarian interventions.

In addition, the development of the eurozone has stalled, and the entry of other states into it in the short term is not possible. After Brexit, the EU no longer has a bright and obvious future.

Most importantly, the “European idea” itself became a stumbling block, leading to a separation of elites from peoples and raising the question of whether integration is an elitist or popular project.

The European Union is divided today into groupings of countries that have emerged as a result of various crises. For example, the Eurozone crisis divided the South (“debtors”) and the North (“creditors”), while the migration crisis divided the East and the West. The EU is also not united in the issue of sanctions against Russia.

At the same time, the European Union continued to develop plans for the future in 2016. For example, with regard to security, in 2016 the European Defense Action Plan was developed. According to him, in next year an appropriate fund will be established to ensure the security of the EU, that is, Brussels officials still believed Trump's warnings [about the need to take care of their own security - approx. "EE"].

In addition, Member States must agree by June 2017 on the introduction of an Entry/Exit control system, and by the end of 2017 on the introduction of a European Travel Information and Authorization system that will allow all travelers without visas to be screened regularly.

The Council of the EU also insists on the urgent implementation of the decisions on countering hybrid threats and on cyber security, reached by the leaders of the EU and NATO on December 6, 2016. Of course, the launch of the EU's own satellite tracking system at the end of the year is an attempt to demonstrate a willingness to solve problems on its own.

Based on 2015-2016 trends. in 2017, the theme of the “return” of the member states to sovereignty will continue to escalate in the European Union. We should expect the weakening of pan-European institutions of governance. This will eventually lead to the formation different speeds interaction (integration) within the EU, which will inevitably increase the disintegration of the union.

Natalia Eremina, Doctor of Political Science, Associate Professor, Department of European Studies, St. Petersburg State University

Everyone has an idea of ​​what the European Commonwealth is. But not everyone knows which countries are included in the association, which have only recently joined.

The European Union is an association of 28 countries (data for 2016) with an economic and political goal, thus, the EU countries were legally approved in 1992 by the Maastricht Treaty. The countries of the European Union in 2016 have significantly changed their composition, what is the history of this community?

The idea of ​​creating such a union, a commonwealth, was put forward as early as 1950. This idea was expressed by the French Minister of Foreign Affairs - Robert Schuman. At that time, his desire was to unite the steel and coal industries of Germany and France.

Countries EU 2016 are unique international education, because it combines the features of both international organization, as well as states. Thus, the countries that are members of the European Union, although they have their own independence, they still have to obey the same rules adopted in the association. The countries of the European Union 2016 are now obliged to follow a common course in all spheres of internal and foreign policy. Consequently, the EU countries have the same rules in teaching, in medical care, in systems such as judicial and pension systems. It can be concluded that the laws of the European Union are common for all EU countries. Further, only those countries that fully met the Copenhagen criteria were accepted into the EU.

The first countries of the European Union

The European Union was formed, of course, not immediately. This process continues to this day.. What countries were in the European Union from the very beginning? Initially, the list of EU countries included such states as Germany, Italy, Belgium, France, the Netherlands, and Luxembourg. In 1973, Ireland, Great Britain and Denmark joined the association. Greece joined in 1981, followed by Portugal and Spain in 1986. In 1985, Greenland separated from the European Union. In 1995, Sweden, Finland and Austria were also included in the list of EU countries. After 9 years, the countries of the European Union carried out the largest accession to the Commonwealth - 10 more countries were included.

EU COUNTRIES 2016

Do EU countries have a list? Which countries are in the European Union? Now we will give an exhaustive answer to your question.

So, list of EU countries 2016 includes the following states:

Also EU countries 2016 accepted into the and Croatia. The countries of the European Union 2015 are constantly acquiring new members. Many more states are preparing to join the union, so maybe the EU countries will see new states in 2016.

Those people who have a Schengen visa do not have the right to freely visit countries such as Cyprus, Ireland, Great Britain, Bulgaria.

But also at the same time the countries Schengen Agreement, namely Norway, Iceland, Switzerland, which are not members of the European Union, are part of the Schengen area.

EUROPEAN UNION COUNTRIES. LIST OF EUROPEAN UNION COUNTRIES 2016.

The state is built on a visa-free regime, has a single economic space and currency. Having sovereignty, all countries live in accordance with the developed general rules that apply to all walks of life, whether it be international politics, education, medicine or social services.

The history of the organization

For the first time, the idea of ​​integrating European states was voiced at a conference in Paris, which took place in 1867. However, it was not implemented. The disagreements between the participants were so significant that before joining the European Union they had to go through two world wars.

The trend towards unification emerged shortly after the end of the Second World War, when the leading countries came to a common opinion that the regeneration and development of economies is real only with close joint cooperation. The idea of ​​the fifty-year path of the countries of Europe towards unification is most traceable in the sequence of all events.

Chronology

Initially, joining the union meant the integration of the coal mining and steel industries of the two major countries- England and France. This was mentioned in 1950 by the Minister of Foreign Affairs of the latter. In those days, no one imagined such a significant expansion of the organization.

The European Union was created in 1957. It includes countries with developed economies. The organization included the Kingdom of the Netherlands, Germany, France, Italy, and Belgium. Since March 1957, such states as Finland, Austria and Sweden have joined the union.

In the spring of 2003, at the EU summit in Greece, an agreement was signed on admitting 10 more countries to the ranks. As a result, Slovenia integrated in 2007, followed a year later by Cyprus and Malta. Slovakia joined in 2009 and Estonia in 2001. Since the beginning of 2014, Latvia has been announced as the 18th member of the European Union. Also joined the Czech Republic, Poland, Lithuania, Hungary.

Some EU member states have also included territories that are under political subordination. For example, along with France, Reunion, Martinique, Guadeloupe, Mayotte and French Guiana entered. Spain attracted Canary Islands and the provinces of Melilla and Ceuta. In parallel with Portugal, Madeira and the Azores entered. Despite such a significant expansion, Greenland left the EU in 1985.

So how many EU members are there? Croatia was the last country to join cooperation within the EU. This happened in 2013. She became the 28th participant. At the moment, the union does not increase and does not decrease.

Criteria for joining the association

Not all states comply with EU requirements. The content of the main rules is set out in a special document. By 1993, the experience of coexistence of states was accumulated and, on this basis, general criteria were taken into account when joining the association new country.

The norms were adopted in Copenhagen and received the corresponding name - Copenhagen. The core of the rules are democratic values. The main attention is paid to freedom and respect for the rights of every citizen. A big role is assigned to the fact that potential members of the European Union have the right to compete with their economies. General principles State building must be based on the objectives of the standards of the Union.

How are decisions made?

Before doing any important step in the field of politics, all members of the European Union are obliged to bring the issue to public consideration.

It will be approved in accordance with the Copenhagen criteria. The final decision can significantly affect the public life of the country.

Each state in Europe that wants to add to the list of countries is checked for compliance with particular scrupulousness. As a result, a verdict is issued on the readiness or unreadiness of accepting a new country into the union. In case of refusal, the state is pointed out to its failure in one or another area. Deficiencies should be brought to the norm. After that, the country is subjected to regular monitoring of how systematically the necessary reforms are being carried out. Based on the data obtained, a conclusion is made about the readiness for integration.

Availability of a single currency

The member states of the European Union, in addition to the general political vector and visa-free space, use a single monetary unit - the euro. Banknotes have been introduced since 2002 in countries such as Belgium, Germany, Greece, Spain, France, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Portugal, Austria and Finland.

By 2016, 19 out of 28 countries accepted the euro on their territory. Other EU members are preparing the transition to this currency. The exceptions are England and Denmark. These countries have a special waiver. Sweden has also expressed opposition to using the euro, but may change its mind in the near future.

Candidates for affiliation

Most European countries are striving for full membership in the EU. Associate candidates for 2016 — Serbia, Türkiye, Montenegro, Macedonia and Albania. Bosnia and Herzegovina is among the potential contenders.

IN different years an accession treaty was signed by some other countries. They also include states located outside of Europe, which indicates that the EU goes beyond the Eurasian continent. Applicants for entry are also countries with developing economies.

Ukraine and Moldova also expressed their desire to join. This happened in 2014. It is still difficult to judge how the integration of countries with developing economies will affect Europe.

What does the membership agreement imply?

The accession agreement implies the mandatory implementation of major reforms in the associative states, improvement legislative framework in accordance with European standards.

In exchange for this, countries can receive duty-free presence in the European market, financial and technical assistance.

To date, there are 17 associate members of the European Union. Not all of them are in Europe. Even Palestine is listed among the contenders.

During the entire existence of the EU, many association agreements have been signed, it's just that many European countries have left the framework of the association and become full members of the EU (Poland, Romania, Bulgaria).

In 20 years, the Russian Federation may join the ranks of the EU

Russia is a member of the European Union... Is it real?

Milos Zeman expressed his opinion on this issue. According to him, the economies of Russia and Europe complement each other. The first needs improved technologies, and the second needs energy resources. At the same time, the Czech leader expressed confidence that freedom of speech, transparency of elections are respected in our country, there is no oppression of opposition parties and there is self-government in the regions.

The role of the UK in the EU

The UK is a member of the European Union, but after the victory in the 2015 elections, John Cameron proposed the idea of ​​England leaving the organization. The EU was in crisis. This proposal was not implemented, and the collapse of the organization was prevented.

At the summit in Brussels, held in 2016, an agreement was signed to give the UK a special status.

Members of the European Union made this state significant concessions:

• For 7 years - from 2017 to 2023 - the British government will not pay social benefits, first in full, and then partially to labor migrants from other European countries.
• England and other EU countries get the right to index benefits for the children of migrants who remain in their country. Payments will be based not on the standard of living in the Kingdom, but social conditions the country where the child lives. This provision is valid until January 1, 2020.
• Political unification will no longer be required of the people of Britain.
• England was given the right to defend its commercial segment of the City. British firms will not be discriminated against for not being part of the eurozone.
• Questions national security The kingdoms will remain under government control.
• The troops of England will not become part of the all-European army if one is created.

According to German Chancellor Angela Merkel, innovations in the payment of child benefits are also beneficial for her country. She is unanimous with Cameron on cuts to social benefits.

Is it too early to celebrate?

Inspired by his victory, the British Prime Minister will begin to agitate the citizens of England about not leaving the EU. However, it is rather difficult to say with certainty that this proposal will win the elections.

Cameron is sure of total victory, but there are those who doubt it.

Some skeptics of the agreement remained dissatisfied. They consider it insignificant. The opposition claims that the prime minister promised more privileges in the Conservative manifesto.

There are enough opponents of the EU in the British government itself. For example, such is the Minister of Justice Michael Gove. He does not hide his negative attitude towards the EU and will agitate the citizens of England to vote against integration.

Even in the Conservative Party itself, of which Cameron is a representative, there is no unanimity on this issue. Therefore, the struggle for the UK to leave the EU will continue.

The British will offer a referendum. It was originally supposed to be held in 2017. But more and more often another date sounds - June 23, 2016, although officially this information is not supported by anything.

Features of the economic life of the EU

EU economy — the sum of the economies of all its constituent countries. In addition, each state international market is a separate player.

The European Union protects the interests of each member and acts as a regulator of all contentious issues. Each country is required to contribute its share of GDP and the total contribution. The EU members that contribute the lion's share of income are France, Italy, Germany, England and Spain.

The specific amount of income from each state is calculated special body. If we take into account all Natural resources members of the EU, then you can derive the coefficient of the amount of wealth that the organization has in 2016. The main natural resources are oil, coal and gas. The overall indicator of the stock of black gold in terms of production puts the EU in 13th place in the world.

Another powerful lever of income is the tourism business. The population of the European Union is actively moving, which facilitates the opening of borders. This factor, as well as the common currency, contribute to lively relations in the field of trade and tourism between states.

Thus, the EU, which was originally conceived as a trade association of several countries, has grown by 2016 into an almost independent unit, including 28 members. The total population of the association is 500 million people.

The accumulation of economies determines the highly efficient reallocation of funds and resources and helps to support states that have weaker economies.

Conclusion

The most serious characteristic modern stage The development of the EU is a symbiosis of factors that influence the desire of states for integration. The new members of the European Union consider the material side to be a priority. Many of them include military cooperation in NATO.

For most of the old members, questions of a political and international nature are coming to the fore. Such a difference in goals inevitably required the development of new criteria and a fundamental reform of the very structure of the union.

Since the fifties of the twentieth century, the European Union has existed, uniting today 28 countries of Western and central Europe. The process of its expansion continues, but there are those who are dissatisfied with the common policy and economic problems.

Map of the European Union showing all its member states

Most of the states of Europe are economically and politically united in a union called "European". Within this zone, there is a visa-free space, single market, the common currency is used. In 2020, this association includes 28 European countries, including regions subordinate to them, but located autonomously.

List of European Union countries

On this moment England plans to leave the European Union (Brexit). The first prerequisites for this began back in 2015-2016, when it was proposed to hold a referendum on this issue.

In 2016, the referendum itself was held and a little more than half of the population voted for leaving the European Union - 51.9%. At first it was planned that the UK would leave the EU at the end of March 2019, but after discussions in Parliament, the exit was postponed to the end of April 2019.

Well, then there was a summit in Brussels and the exit of Britain from the EU was postponed until October 2019. Travelers who are planning to go to England should keep an eye on this information.

History of the EU

Initially, the creation of the union was considered only from an economic point of view and was aimed at connecting the coal and steel industries of the two countries - and. This was stated by the head of the French Foreign Ministry back in 1950. In those years, it was difficult to imagine how many states would later join the union.

In 1957, the European Union was formed, which included such developed states as Germany, and. It is positioned as special international association, which includes features and interstate organization, and a unified state.

The population of the EU countries, having independence, should general rules regarding all spheres of life, domestic and international politics, education, healthcare, social services.

Map of Belgium, Netherlands and Luxembourg, members of the European Union

Since March 1957, this association has included and. In 1973 the Kingdom of Denmark joined the EU. In 1981, she joined the union, and in 1986 - and.

In 1995, three countries became members of the EU at once - and Sweden. Nine years later, ten more countries joined the single zone -, and. Not only is the process of expansion going on in the European Union, so, in 1985, the EU left after gaining independence, joining it automatically in 1973 as part of, as its population expressed a desire to leave the association.

Together with some states of Europe, the EU also included a number of territories located outside the mainland, but related to them politically.

detailed map Denmark showing all cities and islands

For example, along with France, Reunion, Saint Martin, Martinique, Guadeloupe, Mayotte and French Guiana also joined the association. At the expense of Spain, the organization was enriched by the provinces of Melilla and Ceuta. Together with Portugal, the Azores and Madeira joined the union.

On the contrary, those who are part of the Danish kingdom, but having greater political freedom, did not support the idea of ​​​​joining single zone and are not part of the EU, despite the membership of Denmark itself.

Also, the accession of the GDR to the European Union occurred automatically with the unification of both Germany, since the Federal Republic of Germany at that time was already part of it. The last of the countries to join the association - (in 2013), became the twenty-eighth EU member state. At the time of 2020, the situation did not change either in the direction of increasing the zone or in the direction of decreasing it.

Criteria for joining the European Union

Not all states are suitable for joining the EU. How many and what criteria exist can be found in the relevant document. In 1993, the experience of the existence of the association was summarized and uniform criteria were developed that are used when considering the issue of the entry of the next state into the association.

At the place of adoption, the list of requirements is called the Copenhagen Criteria. Topping the list is the presence of the principles of democracy. The main attention is paid to freedom and respect for the rights of each person, which follows from the concept of the rule of law.

Much attention is paid to the development of the competitiveness of the economy of a potential member of the Eurozone, and the general political course of the state should follow from the goals and standards of the European Union.
EU member states before making any significant political decision are obliged to coordinate it with other states, as this decision may affect their public life.

Each European state, wishing to replenish the list of countries that have joined the association, is carefully checked for compliance with the "Copenhagen" criteria. Based on the results of the survey, a decision is made on the country's readiness to join the Eurozone, in case of a negative decision, a list is drawn up, according to which it is necessary to bring the deviating parameters back to normal.

After that, regular monitoring of compliance with the requirements is carried out, based on the results of which a conclusion is made about the readiness of the country to join the EU.

In addition to the general political course, single space there is a visa-free regime for crossing state borders, and they use a single currency - the euro.

This is what the money of the European Union looks like - the euro

For 2020, 19 countries out of 28 that are members of the European Union supported and accepted the circulation of the euro on the territory of their state, recognizing it as the state currency.

It is worth noting that not in all EU countries the national currency is the euro:

• Bulgaria - Bulgarian lev.
• Croatia - Croatian kuna.
• Czech Republic - Czech crown.
• Denmark - Danish krone.
• Hungary - forint.
• Poland - Polish zloty.
• Romania - Romanian leu.
• Sweden - Swedish krona.

When planning trips to these countries, you should take care to buy local currency, as the exchange rate in tourist places can be very high.