How do countries join the EU?
A country wishing to join the EU submits an application to the European Council, which asks the European Commission to assess whether it meets the criteria to join. If the Commission thinks so, the European Council draws up a negotiating mandate. Membership negotiations cannot start until all EU governments agree. The negotiation process was updated in 2020.
The 35 negotiating chapters covering different areas of EU policy have been grouped into six clusters, each of which is opened in turn, with the cluster on the fundamentals of democracy and the rule of law opened first and closed last. Negotiations on a chapter are not completed until every EU government is satisfied. Negotiations continue until all chapters have been completed. Final accession to the EU has to be approved by all EU governments (and ratified in their domestic parliaments), the European Commission and the European Parliament.