• Source: Passports of European Union candidate states

Since the 1980s, member states of the European Union have started to harmonise aspects of the designs of their ordinary passports (but not other types of passports, such as diplomatic, service and emergency passports), as well as common security features and biometrics.
Most passports issued by EU member states have the common recommended layout; burgundy in colour with the words "European Union" accompanied by the name of the issuing member state printed on the cover.




Characteristics






= Overall format

=
Paper size B7 (ISO/IEC 7810 ID-3, 88 mm × 125 mm)
32 pages (passports with more pages can be issued to frequent travellers)
Colour of cover: burgundy red or blue




= Cover

=
Information on the cover, in this order, in the language(s) of the issuing state:

Name of the issuing state
Emblem of the state
The word "PASSPORT"
The biometric passport symbol:




= First page

=
Information on the first page, in one or more of the languages:

Name of the issuing state
The word "PASSPORT"
Serial number (may also be repeated on the other pages)




= Identification page

=
Information on the (possibly laminated) identification page, in the languages of the issuing state plus English and French:




= Following page

=
Optional information on the following page:




= Remaining pages

=
The following page is reserved for:
Details concerning the spouse of the holder of the passport (where a family passport is issued)
Details concerning children accompanying the holder (name, first name, date of birth, sex)
Photographs of the faces of spouse and children
The following page is reserved for use by the issuing authorities
The remaining pages are reserved for visa
The inside back cover is reserved for additional information or recommendations by the issuing state in its own official language(s)




Overview of passports issued by the EU candidate states






Visa requirements for the nationals of EU candidate states for travel to the EEA, United Kingdom and Ireland


Nationals of the candidate countries have varying visa arrangements with the Schengen Area and the Common Travel Area members, as well as with the United Kingdom and Ireland. The following table details the requirements:




Current EU enlargement agenda



The enlargement of the European Union involves the accession of new member states. This process began with the Inner Six, who founded the European Coal and Steel Community (the EU's predecessor) in 1952. Since then, the EU's membership has grown to twenty-seven with the most recent expansion to Croatia in 2013 and the departure of UK in 2020.
Currently, accession negotiations are under way with several states. The process of enlargement is sometimes referred to as European integration. This term is also used to refer to the intensification of co-operation between EU member states as national governments allow for the gradual harmonisation of national laws.
To join the European Union, a state needs to fulfil economic and political conditions called the Copenhagen criteria (after the Copenhagen summit in June 1993), which require a stable democratic government that respects the rule of law, and its corresponding freedoms and institutions. According to the Maastricht Treaty, each current member state and the European Parliament must agree to any enlargement.
The present enlargement agenda of the European Union regards Ukraine, the Western Balkans and potentially Turkey, which has a long-standing application with the EU. As for the Western Balkan states, the EU had pledged to include them after their civil wars: in fact, two states have entered, three are candidates, one applied and the others have pre-accession agreements.
There are however other states in Europe which either seek membership or could potentially apply if their present foreign policy changes, or the EU gives a signal that they might now be included on the enlargement agenda. However, these are not formally part of the current agenda, which is already delayed due to bilateral disputes in the Balkans and difficulty in fully implementing the acquis communautaire (the accepted body of EU law).
Today the accession process follows a series of formal steps, from a pre-accession agreement to the ratification of the final accession treaty. These steps are primarily presided over by the European Commission (Enlargement Commissioner and DG Enlargement), but the actual negotiations are technically conducted between the Union's Member States and the candidate country.
Before a country applies for membership it typically signs an association agreement to help prepare the country for candidacy and eventual membership. Most countries do not meet the criteria to even begin negotiations before they apply, so they need many years to prepare for the process. An association agreement helps prepare for this first step.
In the case of the Western Balkans, a special process, the Stabilisation and Association Process exists to deal with the special circumstances there.
When a country formally applies for membership, the Council asks the commission to prepare an opinion on the country's readiness to begin negotiations. The council can then either accept or reject the commission's opinion (the council has only once rejected the commission's opinion when the latter advised against opening negotiations with Greece).
If the council agrees to open negotiations the screening process then begins. The commission and candidate country examine its laws and those of the EU and determine what differences exist. The Council then recommends opening negotiations on "chapters" of law that it feels there is sufficient common ground to have constructive negotiations. Negotiations are typically a matter of the candidate country convincing the EU that its laws and administrative capacity are sufficient to execute European law, which can be implemented as seen fit by the member states. Often this will involve time-lines before the Acquis Communautaire (European regulations, directives and standards) has to be fully implemented.




Gallery of EU candidate state passports











































See also


Future enlargement of the European Union
Passports of the European Union
Passports of the EFTA member states
Schengen Area
Common Travel Area
Visa policy in the European Union
United Kingdom visa requirements
National identity cards in the European Economic Area
European Economic Area
European Free Trade Association
United States visa
Electronic System for Travel Authorization
Visa policy of Canada
List of passports




Notes






References






External links



European Passports in PRADO (The Council of the European Union Public Register of Authentic Travel and Identity Documents Online)

Kata Kunci Pencarian:

• Passports of European Union candidate states
• Passports of the European Union
• Passports in Europe
• Member state of the European Union
• List of passports
• Turkish passport
• Potential enlargement of the European Union
• Law of the European Union
• Accession of Albania to the European Union
• Visa policy of the Schengen Area