European Union is comprised of EU member states. The European Union currently includes 27 EU member states. The European Union was not created by all the EU member states at once but in several waves.

The first wave of EU member states includes Belgium, Germany, Italy, France, Luxembourg and the Netherlands. These six EU member states joined the European Union from the very beginning.

In the next wave, Denmark, Ireland, and the United Kingdom were other EU member states that joined the six founding countries in 1973.

Greece joined these EU member states in 1981, followed by Portugal and Spain. Spain joined the EU member states in 1986. That brings our count of EU member states to 12.

In the next step, Austria, Finland, and Sweden joined the previously mentioned twelve EU member states in 1995. That brings our count to 15.

On May 1, 2004, 10 more EU member states joined the European Union. These EU member states were the following: Czech Republic, Cyprus, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Malta, Hungary, Poland, Slovenia, and Slovakia. This brings our count to 25. You can see these 25 EU member states displayed in the picture on the left.

On January 1, 2007, two more countries joined the existing EU member states: Bulgaria and Romania. This brings our EU member states count to 27.

EU Member States

In addition to 27 current EU member states, there are a few EU candidate countries.

EU candidate countries are Croatia, the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia (FYROM), and Turkey. Accession negotiations with Croatia and Turkey have started in October 2005. Accession negotiations with FYROM have not started yet.

Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Serbia, Montenegro, and Kosovo are potential candidate countries.

You can find links to EU member states below. These links point to government and other official institutions of the EU member states:

• Belgium (B) - http://belgium.fgov.be
• Bulgaria (BG) – http://www.government.bg
• Czech Republic (CZ) – http://www.czech.cz
• Denmark (DK) - http://www.sdn.dk
• Germany (D) - http://www.bundesregierung.de
• Estonia (EST) – http://www.riik.ee/et
• Greece (EL) - http://www.mfa.gr
• Spain (ES) - http://www.la-moncloa.es
• France (F) - http://www.france.diplomatie.fr
• Ireland (IRL) - http://www.irlgov.ie
• Italy (IT) - http://www.aipa.it
• Cyprus (CY) – http://www.pio.gov.cy
• Latvia (LV) – http://www.am.gov.lv/lv
• Lithuania (LT) – http://www.lrs.lt
• Luxembourg (L) - http://www.restena.lu
• Hungary (H) – http://www.meh.hu
• Malta (M) – http://www.gov.mt
• Netherlands (NL) - http://www.postbus51.nl
• Austria (Ö) - http://www.austria.gv.at
• Poland (PL) – http://www.poland.pl
• Portugal (P) - http://www.portugal.gov.pt/Portal/EN/
• Romania (RO) – http://www.guv.ro
• Slovenia (SLO) – http://www.sigov.si
• Slovakia (SK) – http://www.slovensko.com
• Finland (SU) - http://www.vn.fi
• Sweden (SV) - http://www.regeringen.se
• United Kingdom (UK) - http://www.fco.gov.uk

Negotiations with Turkey to join the existing EU member states are in progress.

Do not confuse with Schengen states and Eurozone states.