The Candidate Countries waiting to join the EU

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A number of new countries are currently in talks to join the EU the Candidate Countries:

Turkey
Albania
Serbia
Bosnia-Herzogovina
FYR Macedonia
Montenegro
Kosovo

Before they can join the EU they must meet criteria set by the EU that show they are ready in various areas such as economic, social, human rights, etc.

The EU publishes reports every quarter showing the progress these new countries hoping to join are making.

Here is one economic report the EU published for 2015. In this document you find out more about the economies of those countries that will, they hope, one day form part of the EU and whose people will be our fellow EU citizens.

Please note - Iceland no longer wants to join the EU and his withdrawn its membership application

ec.europa.eu/economy_finance/db_indicators/cpaceq/documents/cceq_2015_q1_en.pdf

ALBANIA

New central bank governor Genti Sejko was voted in by Parliament on 5 February. His appointment marks the end of a period of uncertainty following the discovery of cash theft from the bank's vault by a former employee and the subsequent dismissal of long-serving governor Ardian Fullani in September last year.

According to fourth-quarter LFS data, the agriculture sector continued to account for the largest share of jobs (41.8%), followed by market services (22.5%) and non-market services (17.1%).

FORMER YUGOSLAVIA REPUBLIC OF MACEDONIA

The average unemployment rate for the year stood at 28%. However, there was no improvement in the situation of young workers, with roughly half of the workforce aged 15-24 years registered as unemployed.

MONTENEGRO

The unemployment rate totalled 39.7% in the North, compared to 7.7% on the Coast. By gender, the rate of unemployed women (18.0%) was similar to men
(18.2%). The share of long-term unemployed (over one year) remained high, although decreasing to 73.4% in the last quarter of 2014 from 80.1% a year ago.

SERBIA

Informal employment increased further to 24.2% of all employed and important gains were also observed in registered private employment, which increased by 2.2% over the third quarter. However, these were negated by significant drops in state and unregistered private employment, bringing the overall employment
down by 0.6% or by 16,088 people.

TURKEY

Employment increased by 1.1% in the fourth quarter of 2014 on a seasonally adjusted quarterly basis. In year-on-year terms, the number of employed persons was even up by 5.6%. But with a 7.2% rise in the labour force (15 years+), the unemployment rate surged to 10.7%, up by 1.4 percentage points year-on year.

BOSNIA AND HERZEGOVINA

The situation on the labour market remained broadly unchanged in October-December with registered unemployment rate staying at 43.6% and accelerating slightly to 43.8% in January.

KOSOVO

Large numbers of Kosovar's have left Kosovo since November 2014 in what has been referred to as an exodus. Some estimates say that by February 2015, up to 5% of the population (90,000 people) left the country through Serbia and then tried to enter Schengen Area through Serbian-Hungarian border. Reasons for the
exodus are largely economic, high unemployment and widespread poverty.

The more countries that join the EU, the more the UK's influence in the EU will be diluted.

I''d prefer the UK to leave the EU, so that all decisions are made here by our elected MPs (who we can vote out), rather than the unelected bureaucrats in Brussels who are constantly lobbied by large corporations.

Where can we find out what the actual threshold/target is that these countries need to meet? Or is it done on a case-by-case basis?

Where can we find out what the actual threshold/target is that these countries need to meet? Or is it done on a case-by-case basis?

Good question Apocalypse. I have sent quite a while looking for that information, to no avail. I have seen the RAG dashboard for Turkey's accession, but cannot link to it.

The EU has a habit of setting targets and then ignoring them or fudging the issue to suit themselves.

That's how so many economically unstable countries came to join the Eurozone - the criteria were ignored or fudged.

That's whyTurkey is being granted visa free travel despite not meeting all the EU's criteria it set in order to qualify for it.

In the cause of self-interest and political expediency the EU just jettisons all it's tests and qualifying criteria.

That's what makes it such an unstable organisation to be politically entwined with

You need to add Ukraine to that list, as the EU has just granted them special visa status, and there is a new free trade area with the EU and Ukraine (and I bet they don't have to abide by freedom of movement et al!).

The Dutch are getting very pissed off now - Rutte had better watch his step, and there is unrest, but it is not reported overly much.

scary teacher its not just the Dutch getting twitchy, haven't the Swiss been voicing concerns lately?

You need to add Ukraine to that list, as the EU has just granted them special visa status, and there is a new free trade area with the EU and Ukraine (and I bet they don't have to abide by freedom of movement et al!).

The EU has been grooming Ukraine with millions of Euros (the money that we British tax payers contribute our taxes to).

The EU runs 250 projects in the Ukraine - more below. The Ukraine is not even an EU member - but the EU is throwing money at it - to encourage it to apply to join.

eeas.europa.eu/delegations/ukraine/projects/overview/index_en.htm

Heres a breakdown of where all that money is going that the EU hands to the Ukraine

eufundsregister.com/?search=Ukraine

So far, the EU has managed to get the anti-EU Ukranian Government overturned by its people and replaced with a pro-EU Government.

Russia will never allow Ukraine to join the EU.

If it ever tries to do so, the shooting will start.

Safer, stronger , better - no, I'd say the EU's constant quest for expansion will create conflicts with other powers, like Russia.

Let's get out now, weaken the EU and take away some of the money we give to them to support this nonsense.

Think about it - the UK Government is borrowing money to pay to theEU so it can ferment civil unrest in the Ukraine and your children and grandchildren will be saddled with the debts of the Uk having to repay those borrowings.

That is crazy.

Baboon yes they have, and the Hungarians too. The Poles are not that happy either. It might just kick off again in Greece if they can't agree on the bail out continuing, things aren't good there either. Spain still doesn't have a government either, so it will be interesting to see if they get a pro or anti EU one.

Springing - given it will be at least a decade before Ukraine can even apply to be a NATO nation due to the state it is in, I don't see how they can accede to the Eu any time soon, particularly as Juncker put a 5 year moratorium on further accession/expansion. The Turkey deal may soon fizzle out with Erdogan getting shot of his PM.

The EU has recently announced it will propose visa-free travel for Ukrainians (against the wishes of the Dutch who voted against a closer EU/Ukraine relationship last month)

[[http://europa.eu/rapid/press-release_IP-16-1490_en.htm

Another step closer to 'joining' the EU - that is 'joining' in all but name.

And the EU already moves at the pace of the slowest - problematic in terms of the second world countries we already allowed in in 08: none of those countries have economies of infrastructure I think it would particularly be beneficial for the rest of the EU to tie itself to.

It's going to cost us UK tax-payers a lot in 'EU funding' to provide the motorways, and other modern infrastructure for Albania, Macedonia, Bosnia etc.

Of course we are already paying some of these costs before they even join the EU in development help.

Who about some UK tax-payers 'development help' for the day-centre my council is about to close though lack of funding?