Serbia
Political system: Parliamentary republic
Capital city: Belgrade
Total area: 88,361 km2
Population: 7,120,666 (estimates 2011)
Currency: Serbian dinar (RSD)
The European Council of the 1-2 March granted Serbia the status of candidate country to join the European Union.
The Council will decide when to launch accession negotiations. Such a decision, known as a negotiation mandate, must be unanimously agreed by the EU Member States.
Meanwhile, ratification of the Stabilisation and Association Agreement with Serbia is ongoing in the EU Member States.
Serbia's steps to candidate status
- December 2009 - Serbia presented its application for membership of the European Union.
- December 2010 - the Council asked the European Commission to assess the Serbia's ability to meet the conditions of membership.
- October 2011 - the European Commission recommended that Serbia be granted the status of candidate country.
- December 2011 - the European Council asked the Council to examine and confirm that Serbia had continued to show credible commitment and achieved further progress in a number of areas.
- March 2012 - on the recommendation of the Council, the European Council granted Serbia the status of candidate country.