European Union member state
 
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A Member State of the European Union is any one of the twenty-seven sovereign nation states that have acceded the European Union (EU) since its de facto inception in 1951 as the European Coal and Steel Community (ECSC). From an original membership of six states, there have been six successive enlargements, the largest occurring on 1 May 2004, when ten Member States joined. The EU is currently composed of twenty republics, six kingdoms and one grand duchy.

Following the addition of Romania and Bulgaria in 2007, the EU's membership now stands at twenty-seven. Negotiations are also under way with a number of other states. The process of enlargement is sometimes referred to as European integration. However, this term is also used to refer to the intensification of cooperation between EU Member States as national governments allow for the gradual centralising of power within European institutions. Before being allowed to join the European Union, a state must fulfil the economic and political conditions generally known as the Copenhagen criteria: these basically require that a candidate Member State must enjoy a secular, democratic system of government, together with the corresponding freedoms and institutions, and respect the rule of law. Under the terms of the Treaty on European Union, enlargement of the Union is conditional upon the agreement of each existing Member State as well as approval by the European Parliament.

Bulgaria and Romania comprise the second part of the EU's fifth enlargement, and joined the EU on 1 January 2007. This date was agreed upon at the Thessaloniki Summit in 2003, confirmed at Brussels on 18 June 2004, and affirmed by the country reports of October 2004 and the final report delivered on 26 September 2006. Bulgaria and Romania signed their Treaty of Accession on 25 April 2005 at a ceremony held at Neumünster Abbey in Luxembourg.

Contents

List

Flag
 CoA
 Common name
 Official name
 Accession
 Population
 Area (km²)
 Capital
 MEPs
 ccTLD
Flag of Austria
Austria Republic of Austria 01995-01-01 1 January 1995 &0000000008340924.0000008,340,924[1] &0000000000083871.00000083,871 Vienna 18 .at
Flag of Belgium
Belgium Kingdom of Belgium 01957-03-25 25 March 1957 &0000000010584534.00000010,584,534[2] &0000000000030528.00000030,528 Brussels 24 .be
Flag of Bulgaria
Bulgaria Republic of Bulgaria 02007-01-01 1 January 2007 &0000000007640238.0000007,640,238[3] &0000000000110910.000000110,910 Sofia 18 .bg
Flag of Cyprus
Cyprus Republic of Cyprus 02004-05-01 1 May 2004 &0000000000778700.000000778,700[t 1][4] &0000000000009251.0000009,251[t 1] Nicosia 6 .cy
Flag of the Czech Republic
Czech Republic Czech Republic 02004-05-01 1 May 2004 &0000000010403100.00000010,403,100[5] &0000000000078866.00000078,866 Prague 24 .cz
Flag of Denmark
Denmark Kingdom of Denmark 01973-01-01 1 January 1973[t 2] &0000000005482266.0000005,482,266[6] &0000000000043094.00000043,094 Copenhagen 14 .dk
Flag of Estonia
Estonia Republic of Estonia 02004-05-01 1 May 2004 &0000000001340935.0000001,340,935[7] &0000000000045226.00000045,226 Tallinn 6 .ee
Flag of Finland
Finland Republic of Finland 01995-01-01 1 January 1995 &0000000005312415.0000005,312,415[8] &0000000000338145.000000338,145 Helsinki 14 .fi
Flag of France
France French Republic 01957-03-25 25 March 1957 &0000000063753140.00000063,753,140[9][t 3] &0000000000674843.000000674,843 Paris 78 .fr
Flag of Germany
Germany Federal Republic of Germany 01957-03-25 25 March 1957[t 4] &0000000082218000.00000082,218,000[10] &0000000000357050.000000357,050 Berlin 99 .de
Flag of Greece
Greece Hellenic Republic 01981-01-01 1 January 1981 &0000000011125179.00000011,125,179[11] &0000000000131990.000000131,990 Athens 24 .gr
Flag of Hungary
Hungary Republic of Hungary 02004-05-01 1 May 2004 &0000000010036000.00000010,036,000[12] &0000000000093030.00000093,030 Budapest 24 .hu
Flag of Ireland
Republic of Ireland Ireland[t 5] 01973-01-01 1 January 1973 &0000000004339000.0000004,339,000[13] &0000000000070273.00000070,273 Dublin 13 .ie
Flag of Italy
Italy Italian Republic 01957-03-25 25 March 1957 &0000000059619290.00000059,619,290[14] &0000000000301318.000000301,318 Rome 78 .it
Flag of Latvia
Latvia Republic of Latvia 02004-05-01 1 May 2004 &0000000002266000.0000002,266,000[15] &0000000000064589.00000064,589 Riga 9 .lv
Flag of Lithuania
Lithuania Republic of Lithuania 02004-05-01 1 May 2004 &0000000003357873.0000003,357,873[16] &0000000000065303.00000065,303 Vilnius 13 .lt
Flag of Luxembourg
Luxembourg Grand Duchy of Luxembourg 01957-03-25 25 March 1957 &0000000000483800.000000483,800[17] &0000000000002586.0000002,586 Luxembourg 6 .lu
Flag of Malta
Malta Republic of Malta 02004-05-01 1 May 2004 &0000000000407810.000000407,810[18] &0000000000000316.000000316 Valletta 5 .mt
Flag of the Netherlands
Netherlands Kingdom of the Netherlands[t 6] 01957-03-25 25 March 1957 &0000000016428360.00000016,428,360[19] &0000000000041526.00000041,526 Amsterdam 27 .nl
Flag of Poland
Poland Republic of Poland 02004-05-01 1 May 2004 &0000000038115641.00000038,115,641[20] &0000000000312683.000000312,683 Warsaw 54 .pl
Flag of Portugal
Portugal Portuguese Republic 01986-01-01 1 January 1986 &0000000010599095.00000010,599,095[21] &0000000000092391.00000092,391 Lisbon 24 .pt
Flag of Romania
Romania Romania 02007-01-01 1 January 2007 &0000000021538000.00000021,538,000[22] &0000000000238391.000000238,391 Bucharest 35 .ro
Flag of Slovakia
Slovakia Slovak Republic 02004-05-01 1 May 2004 &0000000005400998.0000005,400,998[23] &0000000000049037.00000049,037 Bratislava 14 .sk
Flag of Slovenia
Slovenia Republic of Slovenia 02004-05-01 1 May 2004 &0000000002025866.0000002,025,866[24] &0000000000020273.00000020,273 Ljubljana 7 .si
Flag of Spain
Spain Kingdom of Spain 01986-01-01 1 January 1986 &0000000046063511.00000046,063,511[25] &0000000000506030.000000506,030 Madrid 54 .es
Flag of Sweden
Sweden Kingdom of Sweden 01995-01-01 1 January 1995 &0000000009208034.0000009,208,034[26] &0000000000449964.000000449,964 Stockholm 19 .se
Flag of the United Kingdom
United Kingdom United Kingdom of Great Britain
and Northern Ireland		 01973-01-01 1 January 1973 &0000000060587300.00000060,587,300[27][t 7] &0000000000244820.000000244,820 London 78 .uk
Flag of Europe – EU-27 European Union total – &0000000497456009.000000497,456,009 &0000000004456304.0000004,456,304 – 785 .eu

Notes

  1. ^ a b Includes the area (3,355 km²) but not the population (264,172 according to 2006 census) of the territory under control of the unrecognised Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC). The Government of Cyprus estimates the total population at 867,600 including Turkish Cypriots entitled to EU citizenship but excluding TRNC citizens who immigrated from Turkey after the 1974 invasion.
  2. ^ Greenland left the European Community in 1985.
  3. ^ The population figure for France includes the four overseas departments (French Guiana, Guadeloupe, Martinique, and Réunion), which are integral parts of the European Union, but does not include the overseas collectivities and territories, which are not part of the European Union. The population figure for Metropolitan France is 61,875,822.
  4. ^ On 01990-10-03 3 October 1990, the constituent states of the former German Democratic Republic acceded to the Federal Republic of Germany, automatically becoming part of the EU.
  5. ^ The constitutional name of the country is Ireland, not Republic of Ireland. See names of the Irish state.
  6. ^ "Kingdom of the Netherlands" is correct. See this article. However, only Netherlands (the European part) is fully subject to EU law.
  7. ^ The population figure for the United Kingdom includes England, Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland but not the Channel Islands or the overseas territories which are not part of the European Union.

Gallery

Nighttime satellite image of Europe, 2002 showing patterns of development

EU-27 cartogram: member states distorted to represent population density

See also

v • d • e
Flag of Europe Member states of the European Union
Member states by accession · by political system · by population · by GDP

References

  1. ^ "Bevölkerung zu Quartalsbeginn seit 2002 nach Staatsangehörigkeit und Bundesländern" (in German). Statistik Austria (2008-04-01). Retrieved on 2008-07-30.
  2. ^ "Structure de la population" (in French). Statistics Belgium (2007-01-01). Retrieved on 2008-07-30.
  3. ^ "Population and demographic processes in 2007". National Statistical Institute, Bulgaria (2007-12-31). Retrieved on 2008-07-30.
  4. ^ "“Demographic Report” for 2006". Statistical Service of the Republic of Cyprus (2007-12-20). Retrieved on 2008-07-30. “The population in the Government controlled area is estimated at 778,7 thousands at the end of 2006”
  5. ^ "People and Society: Population". Czech Statistical Office (2008-03-31). Retrieved on 2008-07-30.
  6. ^ "Quarterly Population (ultimo)". Statistics Denmark (2008-01-01). Retrieved on 2008-07-30.
  7. ^ "Most requested statistics". Statistics Estonia (2008-01-01). Retrieved on 2008-07-30.
  8. ^ "Den preliminära folkmängden i Finland 5 312 415 i slutet av juni" (in Swedish). Statistics Finland (2008-06-30). Retrieved on 2008-07-30.
  9. ^ "Population totale par sexe et âge au 1er janvier 2008, France entière" (in French). INSEE (2008-01-01). Retrieved on 2008-07-30.
  10. ^ Federal Statistical Office of Germany (2008-06-26). "2007: Smaller population despite more births". Press release. Retrieved on 2008-07-30. “According to provisional results, Germany had about 82,218,000 inhabitants on 31 December 2007”
  11. ^ "Greece estimated population by sex and region" (PDF). National Statistical Service of Greece (2006-01-01). Retrieved on 2008-07-30.
  12. ^ "Major indicators". Hungarian Central Statistical Office (2008-04-30). Retrieved on 2008-07-30.
  13. ^ "Population and Migration Estimates April 2007 (with revisions to April 2003 to April 2006)" (PDF). Central Statistics Office (Ireland) (2007-12-18). Retrieved on 2008-07-30.
  14. ^ "Bilancio Demografico e popolazione residente per sesso al 31 dicembre 2007". Istituto Nazionale di Statistica (2007-12-31). Retrieved on 2008-07-30.
  15. ^ "Population and main data of vital statistics". Central Statistical Bureau of Latvia (2007-07-01). Retrieved on 2008-07-30.
  16. ^ "M3010101: Number of persons by month". Statistics Lithuania (2008-07-01). Retrieved on 2008-07-30.
  17. ^ "Recensement de la population" (in French). Statec (2008-01-01). Retrieved on 2008-07-30.
  18. ^ (2008-01-13) Demographic Review 2006. Valletta: National Statistics Office, Malta. ISBN 9789990973563. Retrieved on 2008-07-30. 
  19. ^ "Main indicators of the Netherlands". Statistics Netherlands (2008-05-01). Retrieved on 2008-07-30.
  20. ^ "Population by sex, economical age groups and region (NUTS 1) in 2007" (PDF) (May 2008). Population. Size and structure by territorial division (As of December 31, 2007): p.11, Table 1. Warsaw: Central Statistical Office, Poland. ISSN 1734-6118. Retrieved on 2008-07-30. 
  21. ^ "Estimativas de População Residente". Statistics Portugal (2006-12-31). Retrieved on 2008-07-30.
  22. ^ "Romania: Economic and Financial Data". National Institute of Statistics (Romania) (2007-07-01). Retrieved on 2008-07-30.
  23. ^ "Population: Slovak Republic". Statistical Office of the Slovak Republic (2007-12-31). Retrieved on 2008-07-30.
  24. ^ "Population, Slovenia, 31 December 2007". Statistical Office of the Republic of Slovenia (2007-03-31). Retrieved on 2008-07-30.
  25. ^ "Estimate of the Municipal Register at 1 January 2008" (PDF). Instituto Nacional de Estadística (Spain) (2008-01-01). Retrieved on 2008-07-30.
  26. ^ "Preliminär befolkningsstatistik 2008" (in Swedish). Statistics Sweden (2008-05-31). Retrieved on 2008-07-30.
  27. ^ "Population Estimates: UK population grows to 60.6 million". Office for National Statistics (2006-06-30). Retrieved on 2008-07-30.

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