Croatia was the last European country to join the European Union, becoming its 28th member on 1 July 2013. Its accession followed years of negotiations and completed the EU’s major enlargement phase after the 2004 and 2007 entries.
Croatia applied for membership in 2003 and opened accession negotiations in 2005. The process required reforms covering areas such as the judiciary, competition policy, public administration, and cooperation with the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia. Croatians approved EU membership in a referendum held in January 2012.
Croatia signed its Accession Treaty in December 2011, and the treaty entered into force on 1 July 2013. It was the second country formed from the breakup of Yugoslavia to join the EU, after Slovenia. The country later reached two further milestones: it adopted the euro and joined the Schengen Area on 1 January 2023.
Montenegro, Serbia, and Albania are EU candidates or prospective candidates, not members. The wording means the latest accession, not the country most recently to adopt the euro or enter Schengen.