§ Mr. Paul MarsdenTo ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will list those countries which(a) have applied for membership of the EU and (b) are investigating the possibility of applying for membership within the next 12 months; and if he will make a statement. [102459]
§ Mr. VazThe countries that have applied for membership of the EU are listed in the table. Accession negotiations started in March 1998 with Cyprus, the Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Poland and Slovenia. Accession negotiations will begin in February 2000 with Bulgaria, Latvia, Lithuania, Malta, Romania and Slovakia. The Helsinki European Council on 10-–1 December 1999 recognised that Turkey is a candidate for membership. Norway put its application on hold in 1994 after a referendum rejected membership. Switzerland suspended its application in 1993. In 1987, the Council of Ministers did not accede to an application from Morocco. No other country has signalled an intention to apply for membership within the next 12 months. This Government strongly support EU enlargement.
Countries that have applied for EU-membership Country Date of application Morocco 120 July 1987 Turkey 14 April 1987 Cyprus 3 July 1990 Malta 216 July 1990 Switzerland 320 May 1992 Norway 425 November 1992 Hungary 31 March 1994 Poland 5 April 1994 Romania 22 June 1995 Slovakia 27 June 1995 Latvia 13 October 1995 Estonia 24 November 1995 Lithuania 8 December 1995 Bulgaria 14 December 1995 Czech Republic 17 January 1996 Slovenia 10 June 1996 1 EU did not accede to the request 2 Frozen in 1996, re-activated 10 September 1998 3 Left in abeyance 1992 4 1994 referendum rejected membership. Application on hold