The Balkan country has completed every process to officially join the European Union bloc. Who will be next?
A good day for the European Union, with its latest member Croatia completing the two final milestones to be completely welcomed into the block. Zagreb, a member of the EU since 2013, adopted the Euro as currency and became part of the Schengen Area, both on New Year’s Day.
Schengen members can travel between each other with no need of passport, having a complete freedom of movement.
Neither of these criteria is necessary to be a part of the European Union. Indeed, some members are part of Schengen but do not use the Euro like Sweden, Denmark or Hungary. Viceversa, Ireland has adopted the Euro but is not part of the Schengen Area.
Others, like Romania and Bulgaria, have neither the Euro nor the Schengen membership, despite their best efforts.
In fact, Romania and Bulgaria saw their Schengen membership denied by Austria, who put its veto power against the decision. This denial increased animosity against the EU in the two Balkan countries, accusing Brussels of being an elitist organization.
Curiously, some Schengen members are not part of the European Union. It is the case with Switzerland, Norway and Iceland. These countries have decided to not become a full-fledged EU member, though they have a great deal of trade and diplomatic relationships with the bloc.
EU expansion
With the addition of Croatia, now the Schengen Area includes 27 countries while the Eurozone includes 20. Despite the expansion of the EU has slowed down in the past two decades, it does not mean it has stopped altogether.
In recent months, Bosnia and Herzegovina became an official candidate for EU membership, joining Serbia, Albania, Turkey, Ukraine and North Macedonia. Furthemore, Kosovo and Georgia are two other potential candidates, though have yet to become official because of their diplomatic status.
Both Kosovo and Georgia have serious border disputes with neighboring countries. Rivalry between Kosovo and Serbia has recently heated up again, while two of Georgia’s regions are currently occupied by the Russian forces.
Ukraine, despite its war against Russia, has become an official candidate in 2022. It is likely that, once the conflict is over, the official procedure will start. However, it will take years before Ukraine will have the diplomatic and economic requisites to become a member.
Turkey has been an official candidate for years now, and will likely remain so until Erdogan stays in power. Being considered almost as a dictator, Recep Tayyp Erdogan will run for the last time in 2023, possibly leading Turkey to a more democratic period.
The most likely candidate to become an official EU member is North Macedonia, having completed almost every requisite. Next, it will likely be the turn of Albania and Montenegro. For the others, a few more years will be necessary.
