France, Belgium, Luxembourg, West Germany, the Netherlands and Italy were the signatories of the Treaty of Rome and thus the original members of the EEC - European Economic Community - which developed in to the EC and then the EU.
There are 27 sovereign nations that have joined the EU and are as follows:
Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Cyprus, the Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, the Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Republic of Ireland, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, and the United Kingdom.
I will list each country in alphabetical order (accurate as of September 2011):
Austria - 1995
Belgium - 1952
Bulgaria - 2007
Cyprus - 2004
Czech Republic - 2004
Denmark - 1973
Estonia - 2004
Finland - 1995
France - 1952
Germany - 1952
Greece - 1981
Hungary - 2004
Ireland - 1973
Italy - 1952
Latvia - 2004
Lithuania - 2004
Luxembourg - 1952
Malta - 2004
Netherlands - 1952
Poland - 2004
Portugal - 1986
Romania - 2007
Slovakia - 2004
Slovenia - 2004
Spain - 1986
Sweden - 1995
United Kingdom - 1973
No new countries joined the EU since Romania and Bulgaria in 2007.
For a country to even be considered for admission, they must be seen as a European or Europeanized country with a democratic form of government and a basic level of civil liberties.
the eu started in 1957 and since then 27 countries have joined the eu.
hope this helps! <3 :-)
No new countries joined the European Union in 2008.
27
People do not join the European Union. Countries do. It is an organisation of countries, not of people. As a result of countries joining, people are living in countries that are in the European Union and can be called its citizens.
Countries are part of the Union. They apply to join. They are not elected to join. Countries can elect people to represent them in the European Union after they have joined.
Ten countries joined the European Union in 2004.
The European Union is an organisation for countries in Europe, so the US could not join. There are over 50 countries in Europe, 28 of which are members of the European Union. There is no reason why the US would even want to join the European Union. It would make no sense for them to do so.
2004.
Norway and Switzerland do not want to join the European Union.
Some countries have chosen to retain their own currencies. Other countries do not yet meet the various economic criteria to join it. Some of these countries may choose to join it in the future.
Romania was forced by the Western European countries.
For example: Norway, Switzerland, and Iceland
Denmark and the United Kingdom.
The European Union is currently in economic downturn. However, despite this, almost all European countries (with the exception of Switzerland) plan on joining the European Union in the future.
Albania is not a member of the organisation known as the European Union. It is a European country, being part of the continent of Europe.