How do accession negotiations proceed?

Accession negotiations are conducted according to a “Negotiating Framework” that sets out the method and the guiding principles of the negotiations. The substance of negotiations will be conducted in an Intergovernmental Conference with the participation of all Member States on the one hand and the candidate State on the other.

In order to ensure progress in the negotiations, the candidate countries will also need to make progress on the ground in meeting the requirements for membership, most importantly the Copenhagen criteria:

• the stability of institutions guaranteeing democracy, the rule of law, human rights and respect for and protection of minorities;

• the existence of a functioning market economy and the capacity to cope with competitive pressure and market forces within the Union; and

• the ability to take on the obligations of membership, including adherence to the aims of political, economic and monetary union and the administrative capacity to effectively apply and implement the acquis.

First step: analytical examination (screening) of the acquis

The Commission will launch the analytical examination (commonly called screening) that forms the first phase of accession negotiations. This process which takes around a year allows candidate countries to familiarise themselves with the acquis, and the Commission and the Member States to evaluate the degree of preparedness of candidate countries prior to negotiations.

Screening is conducted through meetings. There are two kinds of meetings for each chapter (see below): first explanatory meetings with all candidate countries together, and then bilateral meetings with each of the countries separately. In the explanatory sessions, the Commission explains the acquis to the candidate countries. Approximately one month after the explanatory meeting, a bilateral meeting (country session) is held with each country individually. During that session, it is the candidate country which explains its degree of preparedness and its plans with regard to the chapter in question. The information gathered in these meetings serves as a basis for Member States to decide on the opening of accession negotiations on individual chapters.

For the purposes of screening and the subsequent negotiations, the acquis is broken down into 35 chapters, each covering a specific policy area.

The acquis can be found in the EUR-Lex directory list of Community legislation (click: "Legislation in force", and then "Directory of Community legislation").

This list of acquis is classified by 20 headings and is updated once a month.

The table of correspondence [20 KB] provides information on the link between negotiating chapters and the acquis in the EUR-Lex directory of Community legislation.

The content of the acquis

The acquis is constantly evolving and includes:

• the content, principles and political objectives of the Treaties on which the Union is founded;

• legislation and decisions adopted pursuant to the Treaties, and the case law of the Court of Justice;

• other acts, legally binding or not, adopted within the Union framework, such as inter-institutional agreements, resolutions, statements, recommendations and guidelines;

• joint actions, joint positions, conventions signed, resolutions, statements and other acts agreed within the framework of justice and home affairs; and

• international agreements concluded by the Communities, the Communities jointly with their Member States, the Union, and those concluded by the Member States among themselves with regard to Union activities.

In order to become a Member State, a country will have to accept the acquis of the Union. As in all previous accession negotiations, specific arrangements may be agreed.

In all areas of the acquis, the candidate countries must bring their institutions, management capacity and administrative and judicial systems up to EU standards, both at national and regional level. This will allow them to implement the acquis effectively upon accession and, where necessary, be able to implement it effectively in good time before accession. At the general level, this requires a well-functioning and stable public administration built on an efficient and impartial civil service, and an independent and efficient judicial system.

Detailed indications for each specific area of the acquis are given in the guide to the main administrative structures required for implementing the EU acquis [410 KB] .

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Plan on European Integration 2008-2010