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1958 %u2013 Founding members: BE, FR, DE, IT, LU, NL1973 %u2013 1st wave: DK, IE, UK1981 %u2013 Southern wave 1: GR1986 %u2013 Southern wave 2: PT, ES1995 %u2013 4th wave: AT, FI, SE2004 %u2013 5th wave 1: CZ, EE, CY, LV, LT, HU, MT, PO, SK, SI2007 %u2013 5th wave 2: RO, BG2013 %u2013 HRThe different waves not only enlarged the population and land area, but alsobrought new challenges and opportunities for European integration and thebusiness environment. We can add that the EU Member States are integral partsof the European Economic Area. This area also enables member countries ofthe European Free Trade Association (Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway andSwitzerland) access to the EU%u2019s single market, which represents anotheropportunity in the dynamic European business environment. It is important to underline that the EU Member States have the right towithdraw from the integration project. The UK became the first country to applythis right in 2020. However, the process of EU enlargement continues afterBrexit. The next waves could include current candidate countries: Albania (AL),Moldova (MD), Montenegro (ME), North Macedonia (MK), Serbia (RS), Turkey(TR), and Ukraine (UA). In the future, further potential candidate countries couldalso integrate: Bosnia and Herzegovina (BA), Georgia (GE), and Kosovo (XK).To integrate, a country needs to meet the Copenhagen criteria, which are therules that define whether a country is eligible to join the European Union. Thecriteria require that a state has the institutions to preserve democraticgovernance and human rights, has a functioning market economy, and acceptsthe obligations and intent of the European Union. The Copenhagen criteriashould not be confused with the Maastricht criteria, which are convergencecriteria based on economic indicators that European Union (EU) Member Statesmust fulfil to enter the euro zone and must continue to respect once entered.n 1. 1. 4. Institutional framework of the European UnionThe European Union (EU) has an institutional framework aimed at promotingand defending its values, objectives, and interests, the interests of its citizens,and those of its Member States. This framework also contributes to ensuringthe coherence, effectiveness, and continuity of EU policies and actions. Fourmain decision-making bodies run the EU. The EU Council (Brussels) and theCouncil of the European Union (Brussels/Luxembourg) represent nationalgovernments and should promote the interests of the Member States. TheEuropean Parliament (Brussels/Strasbourg/Luxembourg) is directly elected by121 Citizen Commitment