Enlargement of the European Union
For agriculture and rural development, enlargement brings new challenges and increased competition for existing members and new Member States alike. But it also offers huge new opportunities. In concrete terms this means more trade, a larger choice of products, better quality and food safety, and stronger rural communities. Enlargement in agriculture and rural development can be managed so that both sides end up as winners.
Candidate Countries and Potential Candidates
The EU has currently granted the status of "candidate" to 5 countries:
The European Summit of Thessaloniki reconfirmed in 2003 the perspective of future membership to all countries of the Western Balkans, considering them as "potential candidates":
- Albania
- Bosnia and Herzegovina
- Serbia
- Kosovo (under UN Security Council Resolution 1244)
Background
On 1 May 2004, the European Union welcomed 10 new Member States: Cyprus, the Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Malta, Poland, Slovakia, and Slovenia. On 1 January 2007, Bulgaria and Romania completed the successful 5th round of enlargement bringing the total number of Member States from 15 to 27.
The enlargement process continues with Turkey and the countries of the Western Balkans. On 3 October 2005, the EU launched accession negotiations with Croatia and Turkey. On 30 June 2011, EU Member States decided to close accession negotiations with Croatia. Following the ratification procedure in all Member States and Croatia, accession is foreseen for 1 July 2013.
In December 2005, the European Council decided to grant the candidate country status also to the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, with whom accession negotiations have not started yet. Montenegro was granted candidate status in December 2010 but negotiations remain to be opened. Albania submitted its EU membership application in April 2009, Iceland in July 2009 and Serbia in December 2009. Accession negotiations with Iceland started on 27 July 2010.
The European Union approach to South Eastern Europe is governed since 1999 by the Stabilisation and Association process. This policy offers to the Western Balkan countries a framework promoting peace, stability, freedom and economic prosperity in this region.
The role of agriculture and rural development
Because of its significant size (share of the Gross Domestic Product [GDP], high number of the population active in agriculture) and structural deficiencies (subsistence and semi-subsistence farming), agriculture was and is still one of the most complex, sensitive and critical issues in the enlargement context.
The European Commission plays a key role in the enlargement process. It is closely associated in the accession process including negotiations. Commission experts in the field of agriculture and rural development provide assistance and guidance to candidate and potential candidate countries in their task of preparing for future accession to the EU and more specifically in preparing for the Common Agricultural Policy and Rural Development.