Page 10 - EU Legislation Behind the EU Accession Process, Accession Criteria and Accession Stages

Accession negotiations cover all 35 chapters of the EU’s Acquis
Communautaire. Negotiating parties “open” every chapter, be it the free
movement of capital and goods, energy, social policy and employment

and foreign relations, etc., for review. Once all of the issues within a
chapter have been agreed, the chapter closes with the consent of all of
the EU member states.

IV. The candidate state and the EU members sign the accession
treaty.
Once all 35 chapters of the EU’s “Acquis Communautaire” have

been agreed and the accession treaty has been signed, the treaty goes to
the European Parliament for adoption. The Parliament takes a decision
by the simple majority voting rule. By the EU Parliament’s decision, the

treaty enters into force and the candidate state becomes an “EU
acceding country.”

V. The accession treaty has to be ratified and the accession process

finalized.
The acceding country and all of the EU member states ratify the
accession treaty and the accession of the new EU member state to the
Union is finalized.

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