Next Wave of EU Expansion

[Јas]

Croatia could only really be beaten in by Iceland, barring very unusual circumstances.
(Icelanders could well decide though that they don't want in, and may also face the British and/or Dutch stalling accession.)

An oddball pair of possibilities for future expansion would be Mauritius and Seychelles.  Not as strange as one might think since neighboring Reunion is in the EU (as part of France) and Seychelles is arguably more developed than some of the current EU members.

Probably not the next wave of expansion unless that takes a long time to happen.

Being a European State is a sine qua non for membership.
Neither Mauritius nor the Seychelles fit the bill.

[Јas]

Croatia could only really be beaten in by Iceland, barring very unusual circumstances.
(Icelanders could well decide though that they don't want in, and may also face the British and/or Dutch stalling accession.)

An oddball pair of possibilities for future expansion would be Mauritius and Seychelles.  Not as strange as one might think since neighboring Reunion is in the EU (as part of France) and Seychelles is arguably more developed than some of the current EU members.

Probably not the next wave of expansion unless that takes a long time to happen.

Being a European State is a sine qua non for membership.
Neither Mauritius nor the Seychelles fit the bill.

And by what standard are countries "European"?

By a purely geographic standard existing members Malta and Cyprus as well as EU hopefuls Iceland, Armenia, Azerbaijan, and Georgia are not qualified for membership.

The "European State" standard was a figleaf used to diplomatically reject Morocco's 1987 application to join without saying that they were too poor and too Islamic.  The Seychelles has nether of those disqualifying characteristics. Indeed it is richer and more Christian than some existing members.  Mauritius would have a harder time, as it is poorer and majority Hindu, tho with a large Christian minority.

You are correct re: Morocco, but it is a real issue as it is now (unlike then) a stated condition within the Treaty on European Union (Art.49 - *I think*). Defining what it means is a matter for the European Institutions, presumably the Council and/or Court. Obviously there's an element of subjectivity in defining the limits of Europe, but the Seychelles and Maldives would require particularly creative definitions as well as political will, which, notwithstanding any legal issue, I presume would not be present.