EU market enlargement ((A.) candidate countries, (B.) associated countries)
Description:
The enlargement of the European market during the previous decade has been extensive, with the addition of 13 new Member States since 2004, which has increased the population of the EU by approximately 28%;
Current and future candidate countries for accession constitute small countries mostly in South Eastern Europe (i.e. FYROM - Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, Montenegro, Serbia and Albania). The accession of these candidate countries (assuming that it is successful for all countries) will increase the population of the integrated European market by approximately 18% (75). Bosnia and Herzegovina as well as Kosovo have applied for official EU candidate status but have not received it yet (potential candidates);
One notable exception is the candidate country Turkey, which ranks among the 15 largest economies worldwide in terms of GDP and has almost the same number of inhabitants (approximately 77 m in 2014) as Germany. However, Turkey’s potential accession still constitutes an issue of debate across Europe, not least due to recent developments concerning the domestic policy and human rights violations;
As the integrated European market is not expected to witness a significant enlargement, the EU initialised several Association Agreements (AA) with its neighbours. Based on Regulation (EU) No 374/201476 (Regulation on the reduction or elimination of customs duties on goods originating in Ukraine), the EU and the Ukraine completed an AA in June 2014. In addition, in the previous two years Georgia and Moldova signed an Association Agreement (AA) with the EU77. A DCFTA (Deep and Comprehensive Free Trade Agreement) is about the mutual opening of markets for goods and services (78).