A factor peculiar to Europe is the recent accession January 1, 2007) of Romania and Bulgaria to the European Union (Eu), completing the fifth enlargement to 27 countries. Turkey and Croatia are candidate countries. in order to be admitted to the EU, applicant countries must make their laws and most policy frameworks consistent with the " acquiscommunautaire," or the body of laws, treaties, declarations, and resolutions that make up the EU. This requires a tremendous amount of policy-oriented work.