A third country is the term used by the European Commission to define any country of the world that is NOT one of the 27 EU (European Union) member States and EEA-EFTA (European Economic Area - European Free Trade Association) states (Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway).

Examples of 3rd countries:

- all countries in North, Central and South America;

- all countries in Africa;

- all countries in Asia;

- all countries in Oceania;

- the Eastern Balkan Countries (Albania, Bosnia and Herzgovina, Kosovo, Macedonia, Montenegro);

- Turkey;

- Belarus;

- Moldova;

- Ukrain;

- Russia;

- Switzerland.

“Third-countries” is very different from “third-world countries”!

In accordance with Article 2 of the Erasmus Mundus 2009-2013 Programme Decision (No 1298/2008/EC), “Third Country means a country that is not a European Country“. More concretely, the Erasmus Mundus programme distinguishes three different groups of countries:

a) The Members states of the European Union;

b) Other countries or potential candidates possibly on the same footing as Member States (this category includes Iceland, Norway, Liechtenstein, Albania, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Croatia, Kosovo under UNSC Resolution 1244/99, the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, Montenegro, Serbia, Turkey and Switzerland);

c) Third countries.

The countries under the second category will be considered as “European countries” only if an agreement (or a Memorandum of Understanding or an EEA Joint Committee Decision) establishing the participation of the country concerned in the EM programme is in force by the date of the selection decision. If this is not the case, the country concerned is considered as a third country. For the 2013 applications, the EEA-EFTA states (Iceland, Norway, Liechenstein) are considered European countries. All the other countries under b) above are considered Third Countries.

Note: As Croatia will joint the EU in 01/07/2013, applicants from Croatia will be considered only for category B studentship.