Balkans
The Balkans are usually said to comprise Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, Kosovo, the Republic of Macedonia, Montenegro, Romania, Serbia and Slovenia, while Greece and Turkey are often excluded. Its total area is usually given as 666,700 square km (257,400 square miles) and the population as 59,297,000 (est. 2002).
Member state of the European Union
The EU has prioritised membership for the rest of the Western Balkans; Albania, Macedonia, Montenegro, Serbia, and Turkey are all formally acknowledged as candidates. while Bosnia and Herzegovina and Kosovo are potential candidates. Turkish membership, pending since the 1980s, is a more contentious issue. Aside from the Cyprus dispute being a long-standing hurdle, relations between the EU and Turkey are strained after several incidents, mostly concerning the 2016 Turkish coup d'état attempt, the Turkish referendum, and the resulting 2016–17 purges in Turkey. This has led to the European Parliament calling for a suspension of membership talks.