Many European countries are outside the EU, including the United Kingdom, Norway, Switzerland, Iceland, the microstates such as Monaco or Andorra, the nine official candidates such as Ukraine and Serbia, and Russia and Belarus. Some of them still apply many EU rules.
The EU has 27 member states, but Europe has many more countries. Those outside the EU can be grouped by the kind of relationship they have with it.
Close partners in the single market. Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway are members of the European Economic Area (EEA), which extends the EU single market to them. Switzerland, also a member of the European Free Trade Association, has instead a network of bilateral agreements with the EU. All four are in the Schengen Area.
Microstates. Andorra, Monaco, San Marino and Vatican City are not EU members, but all four use the euro under formal monetary agreements with the EU.
Candidates. Nine countries are official candidates to join: Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Georgia, Moldova, Montenegro, North Macedonia, Serbia, Türkiye and Ukraine. Kosovo, which applied in 2022, is a potential candidate. Progress varies widely: some are negotiating chapter by chapter, while talks with Türkiye have effectively stalled and the process with Georgia is halted in practice.
A former member. The United Kingdom was a member from 1973 until 31 January 2020. Its relations with the EU are now governed by the Withdrawal Agreement and the Trade and Cooperation Agreement.
Others. Russia and Belarus are neither members nor candidates. Neither are Armenia and Azerbaijan, which lie on the boundary between Europe and Asia.
Example
Norway rejected EU membership in a referendum in 1994, as Austria, Finland and Sweden prepared to join in 1995; 52% voted against. Through the EEA, it nevertheless applies the EU single market rules and is in the Schengen Area. It has no Commissioner, no members of the European Parliament and no vote in the Council of the EU.
Debates and limits
Being outside the EU is a choice for some countries and a waiting period for others. Supporters of arrangements like those of Norway or Switzerland say they offer access to the single market while keeping more national control. Critics, including some in those countries, argue that they end up applying EU rules they have not voted on. For candidates, the debate is mostly about the pace of enlargement and the reforms required.