European Union (EU) concepts, acronyms, and jargon are a terminology set that has developed as a form of shorthand, to quickly express a (formal) EU process, an (informal) institutional working practice, or an EU body, function or decision, and which is commonly understood among EU officials or external people who regularly deal with EU institutions.
The European Union executive institutions
European Council
Accession Treaty
The Treaty of Accession 1972 was the agreement between the European Communities and four countries (Denmark, Ireland, Norway and the United Kingdom) concerning their accession to the EC. It was signed on 22 January 1972 and Denmark, Ireland and the United Kingdom became full member states on 1 January 1973 following the ratification procedures. Norway did not ratify the treaty after it was rejected in a referendum held in September 1972.
The Treaty of Accession 1979 was the agreement between the European Communities and Greece concerning its accession to the EC. It was signed on 28 May 1979 and Greece became a full member state on 1 January 1981 following the ratification procedure.
The Treaty of Accession 1985 was the agreement between the European Communities and two countries (Spain and Portugal) concerning their accession to the EC. It was signed on 12 June 1985 and Spain and Portugal became full member states on 1 January 1986 following the ratification procedures.
The Treaty of Accession 1994 was the agreement between the European Union and four countries (Austria, Finland, Sweden and Norway) concerning their accession to the EU. It was signed on 26 July 1994 and Austria, Finland and Sweden became full member states on 1 January 1995 following the ratification procedures. Norway again failed to join because its referendum did not pass.
The Treaty of Accession 2003 was the agreement between the European Union and the ten countries (Czech Republic, Estonia, Cyprus, Latvia, Lithuania, Hungary, Malta, Poland, Slovenia, Slovakia), concerning their accession into the EU. It was signed on 16 April 2003 and they became full member states on 1 May 2004 following the ratification procedures.
The Treaty of Accession 2005 was the agreement between the European Union and two countries (Bulgaria and Romania) concerning their accession to the EU. It was signed on 25 April 2005 and they became full member states on 1 January 2007 following the ratification procedures.
The Treaty of Accession 2011 was the agreement between the European Union and Croatia concerning its accession to the EU. It was signed on 9 December 2011 and Croatia became a full member state on 1 January 2013 following the ratification procedure.
Copenhagen criteria
The Copenhagen criteria are the rules that define whether a country is eligible to join the European Union. The criteria require that a state have the institutions to preserve democratic governance and human rights, a functioning market economy, and that the state accept the obligations and intent of the EU.
Dublin Convention
An inter-governmental agreement between EU member states on asylum, obliging the country in which an asylum seeker arrives to handle the application for asylum on behalf of all other member states. The objective was to prevent asylum seekers from launching multiple asylum requests. The agreement was reached in 1990 but became binding only in 1997.
European Conference
The European Conference was the name of the meeting that brought together 10 countries aspiring to join the EU. It met for the first time in London on 12 March 1998, then in Luxembourg on 6 October 1998 and then finally in Brussels on 19 July 1999.
Fouchet Plan
The Fouchet Plan was drawn up by Christian Fouchet as Charles De Gaulle's unofficial spokesman for European affairs. The Fouchet Plan aimed at restructuring the European Community into a voluntary union of member states with a new headquarters in Paris, and by subjecting EU law to national law. The rejection of the Fouchet Plan by the other 5 member states had far-reaching consequences, such as the vetoing of the UK's entry into the EU, the empty chair crisis, and the Luxembourg compromise.
Gymnich meeting
Helsinki six
The Helsinki European Council in December 1999 authorised accession negotiations with six candidate countries: Bulgaria, Latvia, Lithuania, Malta, Romania and Slovakia. These countries are therefore known as the "Helsinki six".