European Commission - Enlargement - Enlargement
The European Union (EU) currently has 27 Member States. Following the first six Member States — Belgium, France, Germany, Italy, Luxembourg and the Netherlands — 21 countries have acceded to the Union:
1973: Denmark, Ireland and the United Kingdom;
1981: Greece;
1986: Spain and Portugal;
1995: Austria, Finland and Sweden;
2004: Cyprus, the Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Malta, Poland, Slovakia and Slovenia;
2007: Bulgaria and Romania;
2013: Croatia.
Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Moldova, Montenegro, North Macedonia, Serbia, Türkiye and Ukraine have the status of candidate countries.
Kosovo* is engaged in the Stabilisation and Association Process, but together with Georgia has not yet been recognized as candidates; they have the status of potential candidates.