The European Union maintains relations with all third countries and International Organisations. The EU’s external dimension takes on a different connotation depending on the closeness and quality of the relations these countries and International Organisations have with the European Union, which can be graphically represented by a series of concentric circles.
The first circle includes the European countries that wish to become EU members. They are recipients of the enlargement policy and – with reference to the Western Balkan countries – of the stabilisation and association policy (Turkey and Serbia, Montenegro, Bosnia Herzegovina, Macedonia, Kosovo, Albania). A second circle consists of the European countries that are not EU members, but participate in the internal market and in other policies through multilateral or bilateral agreements (the countries of the European Economic Area – Norway, Iceland and Liechtenstein – and Switzerland). A third circle consists of the Southern and Eastern neighbourhood countries, which are recipients of the neighbourhood policy, some of them are linked to the Union by Association Agreements (AAs) establishing Deep and Comprehensive Free Trade Areas (DCFTAs).
Finally, a fourth circle is composed of the countries politically and culturally close to the Union, even if geographically distant, which are linked by Association Agreements (such as the Central America’s countries) and the so-called Strategic Partners (USA, Canada, Australia, India, Japan, China).