Estado miembro de la Unión Europea

State that is a participant in the treaties of the European Union (EU)

Estado miembro de la Unión Europea
Categoría	Estado miembro
Localización	Unión Europea
Creado	1952/1958/1993 [nota 1]
Número	27 (a partir de 2020)
Tipos posibles	Repúblicas (21) Monarquías (6)
Poblaciones	447,206,135 (2020) [1]
Áreas	4.233.255 km 2 (1.634.469 millas cuadradas)
Gobierno	Democracia representativa parlamentaria (23) Democracia representativa semipresidencialista (3) Democracia representativa presidencial (1)

La Unión Europea (UE) está formada por 27 estados miembros. Cada estado miembro es parte de los tratados fundacionales del sindicato y, por lo tanto, comparte los privilegios y obligaciones de la afiliación. Los veintisiete estados han acordado mediante tratado la soberanía compartida a través de las instituciones de la Unión Europea en algunos (pero no en todos) aspectos del gobierno. Los gobiernos estatales deben acordar por unanimidad en el Consejo que el sindicato adopte algunas políticas; para otros, las decisiones colectivas se toman por mayoría cualificada . Un principio fundamental de la unión es el principio de subsidiariedad, lo que significa que las decisiones se toman colectivamente si y solo si no pueden tomarse de manera realista individualmente.

En la década de 1950, seis estados centrales fundaron las Comunidades Europeas predecesoras de la UE ( Bélgica , Francia , Italia , Luxemburgo , los Países Bajos y Alemania Occidental ). Los estados restantes se han adherido en posteriores ampliaciones . Para acceder, un estado debe cumplir con los requisitos económicos y políticos conocidos como los criterios de Copenhague , que requieren que un candidato tenga un gobierno democrático y de libre mercado junto con las libertades e instituciones correspondientes, y el respeto por el estado de derecho.. La ampliación de la Unión también depende del consentimiento de todos los miembros existentes y de la adopción por parte del candidato del cuerpo legislativo de la UE existente, conocido como acervo comunitario .

El Reino Unido , que se había adherido en 1973, dejó de ser un estado miembro de la UE el 31 de enero de 2020. Ningún otro estado miembro se ha retirado o sido suspendido de la UE, aunque algunos territorios dependientes o áreas semiautónomas se han ido .

Lista

Lista de estados miembros de la Unión Europea

Nombre	Adhesión	Población	Área (km²)	PIB ( US $ M )	PIB per cápita. (PPP) [2]	Divisa	Gini	IDH	Eurodiputados	Idiomas	ISO 3166-1 alfa-2	ISO 3166-1 alpha-3
Austria	1995	8.792.500 [3]	83,855	447,718	55.406 [4]	euro	29,1 [5]	0.908 [6]	19	alemán	A	AUT
Bélgica	1957Fundador	11,365,834 [3]	30,528	517.609	50,114 [4]	euro	33,0 [5]	0.916 [6]	21	Holandés francés alemán	SER	BEL
Bulgaria	2007	7,101,859 [3]	110.994	66,250	23.741 [4]	lev	29,2 [5]	0,813 [6]	17	búlgaro	BG	BGR
Croacia	2013	4.154.213 [3]	56,594	60,702	27.681 [4]	kuna	29 [5]	0,831 [6]	12	croata	HORA	HRV
Chipre [a]	2004	854.802 [3]	9.251	24,280	39.079 [4]	euro	31,2 [5]	0,869 [6]	6	Griego turco [b]	CY	CYP
República Checa	2004	10,467,628 [3]	78,866	246,953	40.293 [4]	corona	25,8 [5]	0,888 [6]	21	Checo [c]	CZ	CZE
Dinamarca [d]	1973	5.743.947 [3]	43,075	347,176	57.781 [4]	corona	24,7 [5]	0,929 [6]	14	danés	DK	DNK
Estonia	2004	1.315.635 [3]	45,227	31.038	37.033 [4]	euro	36,0 [5]	0,871 [6]	7	Estonio	EE	est
Finlandia [e]	1995	5.577.282 [3]	338,424	269,654	49,334 [4]	euro	26,9 [5]	0,920 [6]	14	Finlandés sueco	FI	ALETA
Francia [f]	1957Fundador	67.024.633 [3]	632.833 [7]	2.707.074	45,454 [4]	euro	32,7 [5]	0.901 [6]	79	francés	FR	FRA
Alemania	1957Fundador [g]	83.149.300 [3]	357,386	3.863.344	53.571 [4]	euro	31,9 [5]	0.936 [6]	96	alemán	Delaware	DEU
Grecia	1981	10,757,293 [3]	131,990	214,012	29.045 [4]	euro	34,3 [5]	0,870 [6]	21	griego	GRAMO	GRC
Hungría	2004	9,797,561 [3]	93.030	170,407	32.434 [4]	florín	30,0 [5]	0,838 [6]	21	húngaro	HU	HUNO
Irlanda	1973	4.774.833 [3]	70,273	384,940	89,383 [4]	euro	34,3 [5]	0,938 [6]	13	Inglés irlandés	ES DECIR	IRL
Italia	1957Fundador	61,219,113[3]	301,338	1,988,636	40,065[4]	euro	36.0[5]	0.880[6]	76	Italian	IT	ITA
Latvia	2004	1,950,116[3]	64,589	35,045	30,579[4]	euro	35.7[5]	0.847[6]	8	Latvian	LV	LVA
Lithuania	2004	2,847,904[3]	65,200	53,641	38,605[4]	euro	35.8[5]	0.858[6]	11	Lithuanian	LT	LTU
Luxembourg	1957Founder	589,370[3]	2,586.4	69,453	112,875[4]	euro	30.8[5]	0.904[6]	6	French German Luxembourgish[h]	LU	LUX
Malta	2004	440,433[3]	316	14,859	43,086[4]	euro	25.8[5]	0.878[6]	6	Maltese English	MT	MLT
Netherlands[i]	1957Founder	17,220,721[3]	41,543	902,355	57,101[4]	euro	30.9[5]	0.931[6]	29	Dutch Frisian[j]	NL	NLD
Poland	2004	37,972,964[3]	312,685	565,854	33,739[4]	złoty	34.9[5]	0.865[6]	52	Polish	PL	POL
Portugal[k]	1986	10,291,027[8]	92,212[9]	236,408	33,131[4]	euro	32.1[10]	0.847[6]	21	Portuguese Mirandese	PT	PRT
Romania	2007	19,638,309[3]	238,391	243,698	30,141[4]	leu	31.5[5]	0.811[6]	33	Romanian	RO	ROU
Slovakia	2004	5,435,343[3]	49,035	106,552	32,184[4]	euro	25.8[5]	0.855[6]	14	Slovak	SK	SVK
Slovenia	2004	2,065,895[3]	20,273	54,154	38,506[4]	euro	31.2[5]	0.896[6]	8	Slovene	SI	SVN
Spain[l]	1986	46,528,966[3]	504,030	1,397,870	38,143[4]	euro	32.0[5]	0.904[6]	59	Spanish Galician Catalan Occitan Basque[m]	ES	ESP
Sweden	1995	10,080,000[3]	449,964	528,929	52,477[4]	krona	25.0[5]	0.933[6]	21	Swedish	SE	SWE
Totals/Averages	–	447,157,381	4,224,488.4	15,687,843	35,083	–	(avg) 30.8	(avg) 0.882	705	–	–	–

Notes

1. De facto (though not de jure) excludes the disputed territory of Turkish Cyprus and the U.N. buffer zone. See: Cyprus dispute.
2. The Turkish language is not an official language of the European Union.
3. Officially recognised minority languages:
   • Slovak
   • German
   • Polish
   • Belarusian
   • Bulgarian
   • Croatian
   • Greek
   • Hungarian
   • Romani
   • Russian
   • Rusyn
   • Serbian
   • Ukrainian
   • Vietnamese
4. Excludes the autonomous regions of Greenland, which left the then-EEC in 1985, and the Faroe Islands.
5. Includes the Åland Islands, an autonomous region of Finland.
6. Includes the overseas regions of French Guiana, Guadeloupe, Martinique, Mayotte, Réunion, and the overseas collectivity of Saint Martin. Excludes the overseas collectivities of French Polynesia, Saint Barthélemy, Saint Pierre and Miquelon, and Wallis and Futuna; the special collectivity of New Caledonia; Clipperton Island; and the French Southern and Antarctic Lands.
7. On 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.
8. The Luxembourgish language is not an official language of the European Union.
9. Excludes the three special municipalities of the Netherlands (Bonaire, Sint Eustatius, and Saba). Also excludes the three other constituent countries of the Kingdom of the Netherlands (Aruba, Curaçao and Sint Maarten).
10. The Frisian language is not an official language of the European Union.
11. Includes the autonomous regions of the Azores and Madeira.
12. Includes the autonomous community of the Canary Islands; the autonomous cities of Ceuta and Melilla; and the territories comprising the plazas de soberanía.
13. Basque, Catalan/Valencian, Occitan and Galician are co-official languages with Castilian Spanish in their respective territories, allowing their use in EU institutions under limited circumstances.^[11]

Outermost regions

Further information: Special member state territories and the European Union

There are a number of overseas member state territories which are legally part of the EU, but have certain exemptions based on their remoteness; see Overseas Countries and Territories Association. These "outermost regions" have partial application of EU law and in some cases are outside of Schengen or the EU VAT area—however they are legally within the EU.^[12] They all use the euro as their currency.

Territory	Member State	Location	Area km2	Population	Per capita GDP (EU=100)	EU VAT area	Schengen Area
Aruba	Netherlands	Caribbean	193	116,576		No	No
Azores	Portugal	Atlantic Ocean	2,333	237,900	66.7	Yes	Yes
Caribbean Netherlands	Netherlands	Caribbean	328	25,987		No	No
Canary Islands	Spain	Atlantic Ocean	7,447	1,715,700	93.7	No	Yes
Curaçao	Netherlands	Caribbean	444	163,424		No	No
Greenland	Denmark	Atlantic Ocean & Arctic	2,166,086	56,081		No	No
French Guiana	France	South America	84,000	161,100	50.5	No	No
Guadeloupe	France	Caribbean	1,710	425,700	50.5	No	No
Madeira	Portugal	Atlantic Ocean	795	244,800	94.9	Yes	Yes
Sint Maarten	Netherlands	Caribbean	34	41,486		No	No
Saint-Martin	France	Caribbean	52	25,000	61.9	No	No
Martinique	France	Caribbean	1,080	383,300	75.6	No	No
Mayotte[13]	France	Indian Ocean	374	212,645		No	No
New Caledonia	France	Pacific Ocean	18,576	271,407		No	No
Saint Pierre and Miquelon	France	Gulf of St. Lawrence	135	5,997		No	No
French Polynesia	France	Pacific Ocean	4,167	275,918		No	No
Réunion	France	Indian Ocean	2,512	837,868	61.6	No	No

Acronyms

Acronyms have been used as a shorthand way of grouping countries by their date of accession.

• EU15 includes the fifteen countries in the European Union from 1 January 1995 to 1 May 2004. The EU15 comprised Austria, Belgium, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Portugal, Spain, Sweden, and United Kingdom.^[14] Eurostat still uses this expression.
• EU19 includes the countries in the EU15 as well as the central European member countries of the OECD: Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland, and Slovak Republic.^[15]
• EU11 is used to refer to the Central, Eastern and Baltic European member states that joined in 2004, 2007 and 2013: in 2004 the Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, the Slovak Republic, and Slovenia; in 2007 Bulgaria, Romania; and in 2013 Croatia.^[16][17]
• EU27 means all the member states. It was originally used in this sense from 2007 until Croatia's accession in 2013, and during the Brexit negotiations from 2017 until the United Kingdom's withdrawal on 31 January 2020 it came to mean all members except the UK.
• EU28 meant all the member states from the accession of Croatia in 2013 to the withdrawal of the United Kingdom in 2020.

Additionally, other acronyms have been used to refer to countries which have limited access to the EU labour market.^[18]

• A8 is eight of the ten countries that joined the EU in 2004, Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, the Slovak Republic, and Slovenia.
• A2 is the countries that joined the EU in 2007, Bulgaria and Romania.

Changes in membership

Enlargement

See also: Enlargement of the European Union, Future enlargement of the European Union, and Brexit

Member states of the European Union (dark blue) (1993–present). Pre-1993, the EU was known as the European Communities (sky blue). Animated in order of accession and secession.

According to the Copenhagen criteria, membership of the European Union is open to any European country that is a stable, free-market liberal democracy that respects the rule of law and human rights. Furthermore, it has to be willing to accept all the obligations of membership, such as adopting all previously agreed law (the 170,000 pages of acquis communautaire) and switching to the euro.^[19] For a state to join the European Union, the prior approval of all current member states is required. In addition to enlargement by adding new countries, the EU can also expand by having territories of member states, which are outside the EU, integrate more closely (for example in respect to the dissolution of the Netherlands Antilles) or by a territory of a member state which had previously seceded and then rejoined (see withdrawal below).

Suspension

Main article: Article 7 of the Treaty on European Union

There is no provision to expel a member state, but TEU Article 7 provides for the suspension of certain rights. Introduced in the Treaty of Amsterdam, Article 7 outlines that if a member persistently breaches the EU's founding principles (liberty, democracy, human rights and so forth, outlined in TEU Article 2) then the European Council can vote to suspend any rights of membership, such as voting and representation. Identifying the breach requires unanimity (excluding the state concerned), but sanctions require only a qualified majority.^[20]

The state in question would still be bound by the obligations treaties and the Council acting by majority may alter or lift such sanctions. The Treaty of Nice included a preventive mechanism whereby the Council, acting by majority, may identify a potential breach and make recommendations to the state to rectify it before action is taken against it as outlined above.^[20] However, the treaties do not provide any mechanism to expel a member state outright.^[21]

Withdrawal

Main article: Withdrawal from the European Union

The Lisbon Treaty made the first provision of a member state to leave. The procedure for a state to leave is outlined in TEU Article 50 which also makes clear that "Any Member State may decide to withdraw from the Union in accordance with its own constitutional requirements". Although it calls for a negotiated withdrawal between the seceding state and the rest of the EU, if no agreement is reached two years after the seceding state notifying of its intention to leave, it would cease to be subject to the treaties anyway (thus ensuring a right to unilateral withdrawal).^[21] There is no formal limit to how much time a member state can take between adopting a policy of withdrawal, and actually triggering Article 50.

In a non-binding referendum in June 2016—the result of which the government promised to implement—the United Kingdom voted to withdraw from the EU. The UK government triggered Article 50 on 29 March 2017.^[22] After an extended period of negotiation and internal political debate the United Kingdom eventually withdrew from the EU on 31 January 2020 concluding the first phase of the Brexit process.

Prior to 2016, no member state had ever voted to withdraw. However, French Algeria, Greenland and Saint-Barthélemy did cease being part of the EU (or its predecessor) in 1962, 1985, and 2012, respectively, due to status changes. The situation of Greenland being outside the EU while still subject to an EU member state had been discussed as a template for the pro-EU regions of the UK remaining within the EU or its single market.^[23]

Beyond the formal withdrawal of a member state, there are a number of independence movements such as Catalonia or Flanders which could result in a similar situation to Greenland. Were a territory of a member state to secede but wish to remain in the EU, some scholars claim it would need to reapply to join as if it were a new country applying from scratch.^[24] However, other studies claim internal enlargement is legally viable if, in case of a member state dissolution or secession, the resulting states are all considered successor states.^[25] There is also a European Citizens' Initiative that aims at guaranteeing the continuity of rights and obligations of the European citizens belonging to a new state arising from the democratic secession of a European Union member state.^[26]

As of April 2021 the United Kingdom is the only former member state to formally undertake the process of withdrawing from the European Union. This began when the UK Government triggered Article 50 to begin the UK's withdrawal from the EU on 29 March 2017 following a June 2016 referendum, and the withdrawal was scheduled in law to occur on 29 March 2019.^[27] Subsequently, the UK sought, and was granted, a number of Article 50 extensions until 31 January 2020. On 23 January 2020, the Withdrawal agreement was ratified by the Parliament of the United Kingdom, and on 29 January 2020 by the European Parliament. The UK left the EU on 31 January 2020 at 23:00 GMT ending 47 years of membership.^[28][29]

Representation

A 2011 'family photo' of the European Council, which comprises the heads of state or government of the member states, along with President of the European Council and the President of the European Commission

Each state has representation in the institutions of the European Union. Full membership gives the government of a member state a seat in the Council of the European Union and European Council. When decisions are not being taken by consensus, qualified majority voting (which requires majorities both of the number of states and of the population they represent, but a sufficient blocking minority can veto the proposal). The Presidency of the Council of the European Union rotates among each of the member states, allowing each state six months to help direct the agenda of the EU.^[30][31]

Similarly, each state is assigned seats in Parliament according to their population (smaller countries receiving more seats per inhabitant than the larger ones). The members of the European Parliament have been elected by universal suffrage since 1979 (before that, they were seconded from national parliaments).^[32][33]

The national governments appoint one member each to the European Commission, the European Court of Justice and the European Court of Auditors. Prospective Commissioners must be confirmed both by the President of the Commission and by the European Parliament; prospective justices must be confirmed by the existing members. Historically, larger member states were granted an extra Commissioner. However, as the body grew, this right has been removed and each state is represented equally. The six largest states are also granted an Advocates General in the Court of Justice. Finally, the Governing Council of the European Central Bank includes the governors of the national central banks (who may or may not be government appointed) of each euro area country.^[34]

The larger states traditionally carry more weight in negotiations, however smaller states can be effective impartial mediators and citizens of smaller states are often appointed to sensitive top posts to avoid competition between the larger states. This, together with the disproportionate representation of the smaller states in terms of votes and seats in parliament, gives the smaller EU states a greater power of influence than is normally attributed to a state of their size. However most negotiations are still dominated by the larger states. This has traditionally been largely through the "Franco-German motor" but Franco-German influence has diminished slightly following the influx of new members in 2004 (see G6).^[35]

Sovereignty

Article 4

# In accordance with Article 5, competences not conferred upon the Union in the Treaties remain with the member states.

1. The Union shall respect the equality of member states before the Treaties as well as their national identities, inherent in their fundamental structures, political and constitutional, inclusive of regional and local self-government. It shall respect their essential State functions, including ensuring the territorial integrity of the State, maintaining law and order and safeguarding national security. In particular, national security remains the sole responsibility of each member state.
2. Pursuant to the principle of sincere cooperation, the Union and the member states shall, in full mutual respect, assist each other in carrying out tasks which flow from the Treaties. The member states shall take any appropriate measure, general or particular, to ensure fulfilment of the obligations arising out of the Treaties or resulting from the acts of the institutions of the Union. The member states shall facilitate the achievement of the Union's tasks and refrain from any measure which could jeopardise the attainment of the Union's objectives.

– Article 4 of the Treaty on European Union

While the member states are sovereign, the union partially follows a supranational system for those functions agreed by treaty to be shared. ("Competences not conferred upon the Union in the Treaties remain with the member states"). Previously limited to European Community matters, the practice, known as the 'community method', is currently used in many areas of policy. Combined sovereignty is delegated by each member to the institutions in return for representation within those institutions. This practice is often referred to as 'pooling of sovereignty'. Those institutions are then empowered to make laws and execute them at a European level.

If a state fails to comply with the law of the European Union, it may be fined or have funds withdrawn.

In contrast to some international organisations, the EU's style of integration as a union of states has "become a highly developed system for mutual interference in each other's domestic affairs".^[36] However, on defence and foreign policy issues (and, pre-Lisbon Treaty, police and judicial matters) less sovereignty is transferred, with issues being dealt with by unanimity and co-operation. Very early on in the history of the EU, the unique state of its establishment and pooling of sovereignty was emphasised by the Court of Justice:^[37]

By creating a Community of unlimited duration, having its own institutions, its own personality, its own legal capacity and capacity of representation on the international plane and, more particularly, real powers stemming from a limitation of sovereignty or a transfer of powers from the States to Community, the Member States have limited their sovereign rights and have thus created a body of law which binds both their nationals and themselves...The transfer by the States from their domestic legal system to the Community legal system of the rights and obligations arising under the Treaty carries with it a permanent limitation of their sovereign rights.

— European Court of Justice 1964, in reference to case of Costa v ENEL^[38]

The question of whether Union law is superior to State law is subject to some debate. The treaties do not give a judgement on the matter but court judgements have established EU's law superiority over national law and it is affirmed in a declaration attached to the Treaty of Lisbon (the proposed European Constitution would have fully enshrined this). The legal systems of some states also explicitly accept the Court of Justice's interpretation, such as France and Italy, however in Poland it does not override the state's constitution, which it does in Germany.^{[citation needed]} The exact areas where the member states have given legislative competence to the Union are as follows. Every area not mentioned remains with member states.^[39]

Competences

See also: subsidiarity

In EU terminology, the term 'competence' means 'authority or responsibility to act'. The table below shows which aspects of governance are exclusively for collective action (through the Commission) and which are shared to a greater or lesser extent. If an aspect is not listed in the table below, then it remains the exclusive competence of the member state. Perhaps the best known example is taxation, which remains a matter of state sovereignty.

Competences of the European Union in relation to those of its member states^[40]

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Exclusive competence	Shared competence		Supporting competence
The Union has exclusive competence to make directives and conclude international agreements when provided for in a Union legislative act as to … the customs union the establishing of the competition rules necessary for the functioning of the internal market monetary policy for the Member States whose currency is the euro the conservation of marine biological resources under the common fisheries policy Common Commercial Policy conclusion of certain international agreements	Member States cannot exercise competence in areas where the Union has done so, that is … the internal market social policy, for the aspects defined in this Treaty economic, social and territorial cohesion agriculture and fisheries, excluding the conservation of marine biological resources environment consumer protection transport trans-European networks energy the area of freedom, security and justice common safety concerns in public health matters, for the aspects defined in this Treaty	Union exercise of competence shall not result in Member States being prevented from exercising theirs in … research, technological development and (outer) space development cooperation, humanitarian aid The Union coordinates Member States policies or implements supplemental to their common policies not covered elsewhere in … the coordination of economic, employment and social policies common foreign, security and defence policies	The Union can carry out actions to support, coordinate or supplement Member States' actions in … the protection and improvement of human health industry culture tourism education, youth, sport and vocational training civil protection (disaster prevention) administrative cooperation

Conditional mutual support

As a result of the European sovereign debt crisis, some eurozone states were given a bailout from their fellow members via the European Financial Stability Facility and European Financial Stability Mechanism (replaced by the European Stability Mechanism from 2013), but this came with conditions. As a result of the Greek government-debt crisis, Greece accepted a large austerity plan including privatisations and a sell off of state assets in exchange for their bailout. To ensure that Greece complied with the conditions set by the European troika (ECB, IMF, Commission), a 'large-scale technical assistance' from the European Commission and other member states was deployed to Greek government ministries. Some, including the President of the Euro Group Jean-Claude Juncker, stated that "the sovereignty of Greece will be massively limited."^[41][42][43] The situation of the bailed out countries (Greece, Portugal and Ireland) has been described as being a ward^[44][45] or protectorate^[43][46][47] of the EU with some such as the Netherlands calling for a formalisation of the situation.^[48]

Multi-speed integration

See also: Multi-speed Europe

EU integration is not always symmetrical, with some states proceeding with integration ahead of hold-outs. This comes in two forms; a faster integrated core where some states forge ahead with a new project, and opt-outs where a few states are excused from normal integration. The notion of multi-speed integration is anathema to some, including President Juncker, who see it as divisive to the European project and others, such as the less-integrated states, who feel they would be left behind. It is however supported by others, such as President Macron, to move forward in integration faster.^[49][50]

Enhanced cooperation

Main article: Enhanced cooperation

There are several different forms closer integration both within and outside the EU's normal framework. The main mechanism is enhanced cooperation where nine or more states can use EU structures progress in a field that not all states are willing to partake in. One example of this is the European Public Prosecutor.^[51] A similar mechanism is Permanent Structured Cooperation in Defence, where the majority of EU states work in a flexible manner on defence cooperation. Other projects, such as the European Fiscal Compact, operate between EU members but as a separate intergovernmental treaty outside of the official EU structures.^[52]

Opt-outs

Main article: Opt-outs in the European Union

A number of states are less integrated into the EU than others. In most cases this is because those states have gained an opt-out from a certain policy area. The most notable is the opt-out from the Economic and Monetary Union, the adoption of the euro as sole legal currency. Most states outside the Eurozone are obliged to adopt the euro when they are ready, but Denmark (and formerly the United Kingdom) has obtained the right to retain their own independent currency.

Ireland does not participate in the Schengen Agreement. Denmark has an opt out from the Common Security and Defence Policy; Denmark and Ireland have an opt-out on police and justice matters and Poland has an opt out from the Charter of Fundamental Rights.^[53]

Political systems

For a more comprehensive list, see List of European Union member states by political system.

  presidential republic

  semi-presidential republic

  parliamentary republic

  parliamentary constitutional monarchy

Politics of the European Union
Member States (27)  Austria  Belgium  Bulgaria  Croatia  Cyprus  Czech Republic  Denmark  Estonia  Finland  France  Germany  Greece  Hungary  Ireland  Italy  Latvia  Lithuania  Luxembourg  Malta  Netherlands  Poland  Portugal  Romania  Slovakia  Slovenia  Spain  Sweden Candidate countries Albania Bosnia and Herzegovina Montenegro North Macedonia Serbia Turkey Special member state territories France–Germany relations EU 3 Withdrawal from the European Union Former Member States (1) United Kingdom (1973-2020) (including Gibraltar)
Treaties Treaty of Paris (1951) Treaty of Rome (1957) Euratom Treaty (1957) Merger Treaty (1965) Single European Act (1986) Maastricht Treaty (1992) Treaty of Amsterdam (1997) Treaty of Nice (2001) Treaty of Lisbon (2007) Article 7 Article 50 Opt-outs Treaties of Accession 1972, 1979, 1985, 1994, 2003, 2005, 2011 Treaties of Succession 1984, 2020 Other Treaties Schengen Agreement (1985) European Economic Area Agreement (1992) Abandoned treaties and agreements European Constitution (2004) UK membership renegotiation (2015–2016)
Executive European Council President: Michel (ALDE) Parties List of meetings European Commission Von der Leyen Commission President: Von der Leyen (EPP) Vice Presidents College of Commissioners Civil Service Secretary-General: Juhansone
Legislature Legislative procedure Council of the EU Presidency Portugal (January - June 2021) Configurations General Foreign Economic Eurogroup Justice and Home Voting Secretariat Secretary-General: Jeppe Tranholm-Mikkelsen Directorates-general COREPER European Parliament (Members) President: Sassoli (S&D) Largest groups EPP (Manfred Weber) S&D (Iratxe García) Member of the European Parliament 9th session (2019–2024) Bureau Vice Presidents Quaestor Conference National parliaments
Judiciary Court of Justice of the EU Court of Justice Members Rulings General Court
Auditory European Court of Auditors Budget Anti-Fraud Office
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The admission of a new state the Union is limited to liberal democracies and Freedom House ranks all EU states as being totally free electoral democracies.^[54] All but 4 are ranked at the top 1.0 rating.^[55] However, the exact political system of a state is not limited, with each state having its own system based on its historical evolution.

More than half of member states—15 out of 27—are parliamentary republics, while six states are constitutional monarchies, meaning they have a monarch although political powers are exercised by elected politicians. Most republics and all the monarchies operate a parliamentary system whereby the head of state (president or monarch) has a largely ceremonial role with reserve powers. That means most power is in the hands of what is called in most of those countries the prime minister, who is accountable to the national parliament. Of the remaining republics, five operate a semi-presidential system, where competences are shared between the president and prime minister, while one republic operates a presidential system, where the president is head of state and government.

Parliamentary structure in member states varies: there are 15 unicameral national parliaments and 12 bicameral parliaments. The prime minister and government are usually directly accountable to the directly elected lower house and require its support to stay in office—the exceptions being Cyprus and France with their presidential systems. Upper houses are composed differently in different member states: it can be directly elected like the Polish senate; indirectly elected, for example, by regional legislatures like the Federal Council of Austria; or unelected, but representing certain interest groups like the National Council of Slovenia. All elections in member states use some form of proportional representation. The most common type of proportional representation is the party-list system.^{[citation needed]}

There are also differences in the level of self-governance for the sub-regions of a member state. Most states, especially the smaller ones, are unitary states; meaning all major political power is concentrated at the national level. 9 states allocate power to more local levels of government. Austria, Belgium and Germany are full federations, meaning their regions have constitutional autonomies. Denmark, Finland, France and the Netherlands are federacies, meaning some regions have autonomy but most do not. Spain and Italy have system of devolution where regions have autonomy, but the national government retains the right to revoke it. \^[56]

States such as France have a number of overseas territories, retained from their former empires.

Related states

A clickable Euler diagram showing the relationships between various multinational European organisations and agreements.

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There are a number of neighbouring foreign countries with strong links with the EU, similar to elements of membership. Following Norway's decision not to join the EU, it remained one of the members of the European Economic Area (EEA) via the European Free Trade Association (EFTA), which also includes Iceland, Liechtenstein, and Switzerland. Switzerland rejected membership of the EEA. The EEA links these countries into the EU's market, extending the four freedoms to these states. In return, they pay a membership fee and have to adopt most areas of EU law (which they do not have direct impact in shaping). The democratic repercussions of this have been described by commentators as "fax democracy" (waiting for new laws to be faxed in from Brussels rather than being involved in drafting them).^[57]

A different example is Bosnia and Herzegovina, which has been under international supervision. The High Representative for Bosnia and Herzegovina is an international administrator who has wide-ranging powers over Bosnia and Herzegovina to ensure the peace agreement is respected. The High Representative is also the EU's representative, and is in practice appointed by the EU. In this role, and since a major ambition of Bosnia and Herzegovina is to join the EU, the country has become a de facto protectorate of the EU. The EU appointed representative has the power to impose legislation and dismiss elected officials and civil servants, meaning the EU has greater direct control over Bosnia and Herzegovina than its own states. Indeed, the state's flag resembles the EU's flag according to some observers.^[58]

In the same manner as Bosnia and Herzegovina, Kosovo is under heavy EU influence, particularly after the de facto transfer from UN to EU authority.^{[dubious – discuss]} In theory Kosovo is supervised by EU missions, with justice and policing personal training and helping to build up the state institutions. However the EU mission does enjoy certain executive powers over the state and has a responsibility to maintain stability and order.^[59] Like Bosnia, Kosovo has been termed an "EU protectorate".^[60][61][62]

However, there is also the largely defunct term of associate member. It has occasionally been applied to states that have signed an association agreement with the EU. Associate membership is not a formal classification and does not entitle the state to any of the representation of free movement rights that full membership allows. The term is almost unheard of in the modern context and was primarily used in the earlier days of the EU with countries such as Greece and Turkey. Turkey's association agreement was the 1963 Ankara Agreement, implying that Turkey became an associate member that year.^[63][64] Present association agreements include the Stabilisation and Association Agreements with the western Balkans; these states are no longer termed "associate members".

On 24 December 2020, it was announced that the United Kingdom and the European Union had agreed a post-Brexit trade deal, to take effect after the transition period expires on 1 January 2021.^[65]

See also

• Currencies of the European Union
• Economy of the European Union
• Enlargement of the European Union (1973–2013)
• European Economic Area (integration with the EFTA States)
• Future enlargement of the European Union
• History of the European Union
• Microstates and the European Union
• Special member state territories and the European Union

Notes

1. The first states first formed the European Coal and Steel Community in 1952 and then created the parallel European Economic Community in 1958. Although the latter was later, it is more often considered the immediate predecessor to the EU. The former has always shared the same membership and has since been absorbed by the EU, which was formally established in 1993.

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External links

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