Southeast Europe
This concept is based on the boundaries of the Balkan peninsula. The countries that have been described as being entirely within the region are: Albania, Kosovo, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Macedonia and Montenegro.
Balkans
Greece has been the member of the European Union since 1981 while Slovenia is a member since 2004, Bulgaria and Romania are members since 2007, and Croatia is a member since 2013. In 2005, the European Union decided to start accession negotiations with candidate countries; Turkey, and Macedonia were accepted as candidates for EU membership. In 2012, Montenegro started accession negotiations with the EU. In 2014, Albania is an official candidate for accession to the EU. In 2015, Serbia was expected to start accession negotiations with the EU, however this process has been stalled over the recognition of Kosovo as an independent state by existing EU member states.