# Travel >> Destinations >> Europe

Non-EU European Countries: Candidate and Potential Candidate Status (2024)

As of 2024, the following European countries are not EU members but are in various stages of the accession process. "Joining" is not a single date—it's a multi-year negotiation.

Official Candidates (Negotiations Open or Pending)

Country	Application	Candidate Status	Negotiations Opened
Montenegro	Dec 2008	Dec 2010	June 2012 (33 chapters opened, 3 provisionally closed)
Serbia	Dec 2009	Mar 2012	Jan 2014 (22 opened, 2 closed)
North Macedonia	Mar 2004	Dec 2005	July 2022 (after Bulgaria veto lifted)
Albania	Apr 2009	Jun 2014	July 2022 (linked with North Macedonia)
Turkey	Apr 1987	Dec 1999	Oct 2005 (stalled since 2016; 16 opened, 1 closed)
Ukraine	Feb 2022	Jun 2022	Not yet (screening underway)
Moldova	Mar 2022	Jun 2022	Not yet (screening underway)
Bosnia & Herzegovina	Feb 2016	Dec 2022 (potential→candidate)	Not yet
Georgia	Mar 2023	Dec 2023	Not yet

Potential Candidates (No Formal Application / Early Stage)

Kosovo: SAA in force (2016); visa liberalization (2024); no application (recognition issues).

EFTA / EEA Members (Integrated but Not Candidates)

Norway, Iceland, Liechtenstein — EEA (single market access); no membership intent.
Switzerland — Bilateral treaties; 1992 EEA referendum rejected; no application.

Microstates (Association Agreements)

Andorra, Monaco, San Marino — negotiating Association Agreements (not membership).

Key Point

Candidate status ≠ guaranteed membership. Each must meet Copenhagen criteria (democracy, rule of law, market economy, acquis adoption). Timelines: Montenegro/Serbia earliest (late 2020s?); Ukraine/Moldova accelerated by war but reforms massive; Turkey frozen.

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Europe