It may include adverts from us and 3rd parties based on our understanding. There are 44 countries in Europe, including the UK, Germany, Russia, France, Spain and Ukraine. Out of these countries, not all of them are part of the European Union. There are the likes of Iceland, Albania, Armenia, Belarus and Georgia. Robert Kimbell, chairman of the Time Party, has launched an attack on the bloc after pointing out that the EU is not Europe.
He tweeted: Tired of the MSM Mainstream Media referring to half of European countries as 'Europe'. Europe is a continent. Brussels says something. European Russia alone accounts for 40 percent of Europe's landmass. READ MORE: Truss told to pay EU 15 billion and to'strike deal urgently'
Putin issues fresh set of demands as invasion fears soar INSIGHT Fears sparked Liz Truss 'not prepared to trigger Article 16 REVEAL Truss' furious exit showdown as EU threatens 80 billion betrayal COMMENT This is based on political factors and not purely geographical position. The political criteria of a country seeking to join the bloc are also assessed by the EU. The European Council is looking at a country's political scene by the presence of a functioning democracy, the protection of human rights, the rule of law and the protection of and respect for minorities while making an assessment. In October, the EU left the door open to Turkey's proposed membership, rather than rule out enlargement due to President Recep Tayyip Erdogan's backsliding. The European Commission raised serious concerns over the membership application, but not enough to shut down the door completely. The EU Commission said at the time that the EU's serious concerns about the continued deterioration of democracy, the rule of law, fundamental rights and the independence of the judiciary have not been addressed. There was further backsliding in many areas. The report said that Turkey's accession negotiations have come to a standstill under the current circumstances. Turkey's Foreign Ministry said in a statement that Turkey maintains its strategic choice of full EU membership in the strongest terms, in order to defend the interests of Ankara, Turkey s Foreign Ministry said the report showed the European Union's double standard approach. It said that it would be in everyone's interest if the EU sees Turkey as a candidate country that is negotiating, not as a partner with whom to have daily give-take relations. Poland is at odds with the EU Commission over issues ranging from LGBTQ rights to judicial independence.