European Union Expansion by 2030

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Blue: Current EU member-states

Aquamarine: Candidates (Serbia, Montenegro, Macedonia, Albania, Turkey)

Green: have ratified the EU Association Agreement, and are recognized by the EU as having a European perspective (Ukraine, Moldova, Georgia)

Yellow: countries/candidates that have not yet applied for entry (Bosnia/Herzegovina, Kosovo)

Orange: countries/candidates that have frozen or withdrawn their membership applications (Norway, Iceland, Switzerland)

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With Mladic going to the Hague, and presumably Goran Hadzic right behind him, what does everyone now think of Serbia's chances of joining the European Union? 

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Lol@norway and switzerland. Too good to be in "europe"

Not a case of being too good, but that it would be extremely stupid for either of them.  Norway would get screwed royally if its waters were part of the Common Fisheries Policy and its waters opened up to European trawlers.  Plus they'd have to use the same technicality that Sweden has used to avoid joining the Eurozone, that of not being a member of the ERM II for two years, as the Norwegian krone more than meets all of the other requirements that would force them to adopt the Euro.

Norway stays out for oil related reasons also, right? Further, the Swiss get to keep prying eyes away from their shady banks.

In other words, they're too good to be in "europe."

No, they're too smart to be in the EU. Nothing strange with that.

It's a shame that only Norway and Switzerland were smart enough...

What's with all this hostility to the European Union? Do you really wish to return to the Westphalian system of independent competing nation-states that ultimately led to the First and Second World Wars?  

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You're seriously claiming the only way to avoid a future World War in Europe is by surrendering political power to Brussels? Really?

I do -from my perspective, the European Union has helped immensely as a pacifying force, which was the main reason it (or at least its predecessors) was founded.  You don't see France, Britain, and Germany contemplating war against one another, do you?  The only areas of conflict in Europe that we have seen since the end of the Cold War have been in the Balkans, which (with the exception of Slovenia) are still outside the European Union.  And the main protagonist in those conflicts has been Serbia.  

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The Coal and Steal Union was an agreement that would keep one of the two countries (France and Germany) from secretly starting to produce more of the two itims in order to start war on eachother. That has nothing to do with European relations today.

From what I am reading from the 1951 Treaty of Paris that created the European Coal and Steel Community, its mission was much broader and ambitious than that.  According to the preamble (or its equivalent), its aims were, 'to substitute for historic rivalries a fusion of their essential interests; to establish, by creating an economic community, the foundation of a broad and independent community among peoples long divided by bloody conflicts; and to lay the bases of institutions capable of giving direction to their future common destiny;

HAVE DECIDED to create a European Coal and Steel Community'

Pretty much says it itself, doesn't it? 

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That is a false comparison, and you know it. 

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You're seriously claiming the only way to avoid a future World War in Europe is by surrendering political power to Brussels? Really?

I do -from my perspective, the European Union has helped immensely as a pacifying force, which was the main reason it (or at least its predecessors) was founded.  You don't see France, Britain, and Germany contemplating war against one another, do you?  The only areas of conflict in Europe that we have seen since the end of the Cold War have been in the Balkans, which (with the exception of Slovenia) are still outside the European Union.  And the main protagonist in those conflicts has been Serbia.  

Then you're not very familiar with modern Europe, if you think that without the EU that France, Germany and Britain would start fighting once again.

There's nothing to suggest that, and an awful lot that would strongly discourage it.

The United States and Canada are separate, sovereign countries....and you don't see them going to war with each other, do you? Why are Britain and Germany different for you?

Are you seriously going to compare Europe and North America?  Really? 

When last I checked, the United States and Canada never engaged in a world war (let alone, two) that resulted in the deaths of millions and devastated an entire continent.

THAT is why Britain and Germany is a completely different situation than that between the United States and Canada.  There is no comparison.   

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Croatia may join the EU in 2013 if it meets conditions

June 11, 2011|By Stephen Castle, International Herald Tribune

LONDON — After six arduous years of talks on its bid for European Union membership, Croatia was told yesterday that it should be able to join in 2013 but that its efforts to combat corruption and reform its judiciary will be monitored in the meantime in case they slip.

Held back by its failure to cooperate fully in the prosecution of war crimes suspects, Croatia was pressed by the EU to make a host of changes, including overhauling its judicial system.

Yesterday it was judged to have finally met entry requirements, furthering the quest for it to become the 28th EU state — providing the bloc’s nations agree to that timetable.

But the continued monitoring until then underlines how attitudes have hardened against expansion since 2007, when the EU admitted Romania and Bulgaria. Both those nations have continued to battle against corruption since then and have had some EU subsidies temporarily frozen.

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This is not encouraging for those of us who want to see Serbia join the European Union, to say the least:

Serbia May Put EU Accession on Ice

NOVEMBER 23, 2011, 4:50 PM CET
By GORAN MIJUK

The European Union’s carrot-and-stick tactics may be losing their appeal to Serbia, which may put its aspirations of joining the EU on ice or even drop them altogether as the country is unwilling to part with Kosovo, its former southern province that unilaterally declared independence in 2008.

The EU, which is expected to decide on Dec. 9 whether to proceed with accession talks with Serbia, said in October that before the integration process can be accelerated, strained relations with Kosovo need to be improved.

Conflict between the two neighbors gained momentum this summer when Kosovo police forces took over several border posts to enforce an import ban. Kosovo’s Serbs, who dominate the region, reacted by putting up road blocks, which sparked clashes with the police and later with North Atlantic Treaty Organization-led troops.

Tension in the region remains high and several barricades and roadblocks still stand even as officials from Serbia and Kosovo have resumed talks in Brussels, after suspending them during the summer violence. Top policy makers still hope the talks can be brought to a successful end and pave the way for Serbia’s EU integration.

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I guess this probably shouldn't come as a surprise to anyone -but it's still disappointing:

No candidate status as Merkel says Belgrade “not ready”

By Lénaïc Vaudin d’Imécourt | Friday 02 December 2011

The member states will not agree to granting Serbia EU candidate status at the next General Affairs Council, scheduled on 5 December. Concerns have been raised over the country’s readiness to be given that status, as negotiations between Serbia and Kosovo have not yet produced concrete measures to help end their conflict.

Against the backdrop of recent violence and growing tensions in the North of Kosovo, Germany made its position clear on Belgrade’s candidacy: it will not give its consent. Chancellor Angela Merkel told the German Bundestag, on 1 December, that “Serbia’s road into the EU can only lead through the normalisation of its relations with Kosovo”. “I very much regret that Serbia has not met these expectations sufficiently so far and that therefore the preconditions for giving it candidate status are not in place up until now,” she added.
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Which makes it all the more frustrating, as Serbia has made progress vis-a-vis Kosovo:

Serbia and Kosovo reach border deal

Last Modified: 03 Dec 2011 01:19

Serbia and Kosovo have struck a key deal on the controversial issue of border management, European Union mediators said after the third consecutive day of negotiations in Brussels.

In a statement late on Friday, the EU said Serbia and Kosovo agreed to joint management of their border points, but indicated that the deal "will be gradually implemented as soon as practically possible".

The bloc also added that the EU's law and justice mission in Kosovo, EULEX, "will be present in line with its mandate".

The EU announcement of a deal followed three days of long talks into the late hours as Serbia came under strong pressure from EU nations and NATO to take a proactive role in stemming violence on the border.

Belgrade and Pristina also agreed to fully implement a previous deal on free movement.

"The expectation is that there will be full implementation of the freedom of movement agreement as of 26 December 2011, resulting in free travel for everyone," the EU said.

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Fortunately, Serbia will not give up on its bid to join the EU.  

And in other news, Croatia has just signed its accession treaty, making it the 28th member of the EU starting in 2013.

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I got a puzzling question that some of ya guys might be able to answer. Can the EU kick out members? If so, then why haven't they kicked out members like Greece?

Welcome to the forum!

According to this link from the Danish government page on the EU, the answer to your question is 'no'.  An EU member country cannot be expelled though it can leave/secede on a voluntary basis.  

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Croatia is in:

Croatians vote in favor of E.U. membership

By Michael Birnbaum, Sunday, January 22, 3:30 PM

BERLIN — Croatians voted Sunday to join the European Union, after a heated campaign that reflected how the economic turmoil of the past several years has damaged the prestige of membership.

Not long ago, becoming a member of the E.U. club was seen as a quick ticket to economic success, as borrowing costs dropped and investors swarmed some of the former Eastern Bloc countries that joined eight years ago. Now, the union is notable mainly for the financial upheaval that has threatened to spread across the Atlantic and affect growth in the United States as well as in Europe.
 
Still, citizens in some small countries appear to believe the European Union is still worth joining. With more than 99 percent of the ballots counted, Croatian officials said 66 percent of voters approved the referendum. Turnout was about 44 percent, which is considered low, they said. Assuming E.U. member countries approve Croatia’s entrance, the country by mid-2013 would be the union’s 28th member.

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Serbia's prospects of becoming an EU candidate is suddenly much brighter:

Kosovo and Serbia Reach Key Deal

By MATTHEW BRUNWASSER
Published: February 24, 2012

Serbia and Kosovo, its former province, reached an agreement Friday that helps pave the way for Serbia’s gaining official “candidate” status to join the European Union.

The agreement outlines the conditions under which Kosovo can be represented at international meetings and outlines technical parameters for border controls.

European Commission leaders will meet in the coming week to decide on whether Serbia has met all the criteria to begin accession talks; a key sticking point had been the tense relations with Kosovo, which declared independence in 2008. A previous E.U. meeting, in December, declined to offer Serbia an invitation, as German peacekeeping troops had come under attack by Serbs in North Kosovo.

Serbia has until now thwarted any participation by representatives of the Kosovo government in international meetings by walking out or refusing to participate. Under the new agreement, Serbia will accept international forums in which Kosovo is represented by Kosovars for the first time.

The diplomatically complex agreement states that the word “Republic” will not appear next to the name Kosovo in international forums. Instead, a footnote will refer to Security Council Resolution 1244 — which did not mention the independence of Kosovo — and a ruling by the International Court of Justice saying that Kosovo’s declaration of independence in 2008 was legal.

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It's official -Serbia is now a candidate to join the European Union.

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How soon does everyone expect Serbia to join the European Union?  In Croatia's case, between the time they became an official candidate for membership (mid-2004), and when they are due to officially join (June 2013), it took nearly a decade.  So, maybe early in the next decade for Serbia?  

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A few updates:

-Croatia has officially become the 28th member of the European Union.

-Also, membership talks between Serbia and the EU are set for next January.

-And we can forget about Iceland joining the EU for the time being. 

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It's only a matter of time now:

Serbia To Start EU Accession Talks In January

By RFE/RL
December 17, 2013

BRUSSELS -- Serbia has been given the green light to open EU accession negotiations in January.

EU Enlargement Commissioner Stefan Fuele wrote on Twitter that EU ministers had "acknowledged reform and normalization efforts," with Kosovo.

Fuele said the talks will start on January 21.

"On Serbia and Kosovo, I applaud both prime ministers on the remarkable efforts they have made towards normalization this year with expert facilitation and political facilitation of [EU foreign-policy chief] Cathy Ashton. I am pleased that the council has acknowledged these efforts," Fuele announced after a meeting of EU ministers for foreign and European affairs in Brussels on December 17.

"The adopting of the negotiation framework is an important step forward for Serbia," he added.

Speaking on national TV, Serbia's Prime Minister Ivica Dacic called it a "historic moment for Serbia."

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Serb Progressives Win Majority in Parliament on EU Pledge

By Gordana Filipovic and Misha Savic 
Mar 16, 2014 6:22 PM ET

The Serbian Progressive Party led by Aleksandar Vucic won an outright parliamentary majority in a general election on a pledge to fight graft, fix the economy and join the European Union by 2020.

Vucic’s party, which forced the ballot two years earlier than scheduled, won 48.8 percent, more than polls predicted, for 157 of the chamber’s 250 seats, Serbia’s independent election monitor said today. Prime Minister Ivica Dacic’s Socialist Party received 14 percent, for 45 seats, said Marko Blagojevic, director of monitor the Centre for Free Elections and Democracy, citing preliminary results.

Vucic, who was once an ally of late Balkan strongman Slobodan Milosevic, pledged to embrace painful austerity measures endorsed by the International Monetary Fund and make Serbia the third former Yugoslav republic to join the EU two decades after the bloody Balkan civil wars. He said he will “extend a hand” to other parties before forming a new government by May 1.

“I’m sure that Serbia will continue its European path,” Vucic told a media briefing after his party declared victory. “We are ready for that kind of dialogue with all the relevant political parties.”

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Kosovo agreement clears Serbia's EU path

By ERIC MAURICE
BRUSSELS, 27. AUG, 09:21

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Serbia advances, and is likely to open talks with the EU over its membership application either next month, or early next year.

Macedonia doesn't look to be doing so well, however:

Serbia advances on EU path, Macedonia stalls

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EU revives Turkey membership bid, launches Serbia talks

By ESZTER ZALAN
BRUSSELS, 15. DEC, 09:29

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Serbia Aims to Open Key EU Chapters in June:
Negotiations on key chapters on Serbia’s European path could be opened as early as June, an expert said, after Enlargement Commissioner Hahn praised the progress made so far.