eu accession

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Accession countries is commonly used to refer to countries that have or will join the European Union ("EU"). Although the term should properly be used for countries that have yet to join the EU but whose date of accession has been finalized, the term came into common usage prior to May, 2004, when 10 states joined the Union; in this context, Accession Countries may refer to Cyprus, the Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Malta, Poland, Slovakia, and Slovenia, or to some subset of these countries. As Bulgaria and Romania joined the EU in January 2007, they may also be referred to as accession countries