This article explains the difference between European Union Member States and third countries, and which territories are considered part of the EU.
The European Union
The European Union (EU) is an economic and political union of 27 European states. These states cooperate in the areas of customs, trade, freedom of movement and others.
EU Member States: Austria (AT), Belgium (BE), Bulgaria (BG), Croatia (HR), Cyprus (CY), Czechia (CZ), Denmark (DK), Estonia (EE), Finland (FI), France (FR), Germany (DE), Greece (GR), Hungary (HU), Ireland (IE), Italy (IT), Latvia (LV), Lithuania (LT), Luxembourg (LU), Malta (MT), Netherlands (NL), Poland (PL), Portugal (PT), Romania (RO), Slovakia (SK), Slovenia (SI), Spain (ES) and Sweden (SE).
Non-continental and overseas EU territories
Some EU Member States have overseas territories that are considered an integral part of the EU (known as outermost regions). These are:
- Martinique, Guadeloupe, French Guiana (French overseas departments)
- Saint-Martin (French overseas collectivity)
- Mayotte and Réunion (French overseas departments in the Indian Ocean)
- Madeira and the Azores (autonomous regions of Portugal)
- Canary Islands (autonomous region of Spain)
These territories are part of the EU and EU law and rules apply there.
Third countries
The term "third countries" began to be used in Lithuanian law when Lithuania joined the EU. It refers to all states that are not EU Member States.
The concept of third countries is not the same as the "Third World" – it does not refer to economically weak states. Third countries include the entire world, except EU Member States and the countries of the European Free Trade Association (EFTA) (Iceland, Norway, Liechtenstein and Switzerland).