MAPPED: EU plots MASSIVE expansion to become 37 country MEGABLOC after Brexit

Albania, the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, Montenegro, Serbia and Turkey could all become members under EU plans.

And they could be joined by Bosnia and Herzegovina as well as Kosovo in a vast land grab by the EU.

Meanwhile the bloc is squaring up to Vladimir Putin by attempting to bring Russian allies Ukraine, Moldova and Georgia under their control.

It comes as EU Commissioner Jean Claude Juncker storms ahead with his plan to further unify the continent and bring nation states under the yoke of Brussels.

The bloc has long held membership over Turkey as a way to bend the will of the increasingly autocratic state.

During the height of the migrant crisis Ankara took on 3.4 million refugees headed for Europe at the behest of Brussels in return for aid cash and the promise of membership.

But the state has repeatedly called the bloc’s bluff, earlier this year threatening to allow 15,000 citizens through the border a month after EU criticism of President Erdogan’s increasingly authoritarian stance following last year’s military coup.

During the UK’s EU referendum former prime minister David Cameron claimed Turkey’s membership was a millennia away.

In an interview on LBC Radio on the eve of the crunch vote, Mr Cameron said: “The issue simply isn’t going to arise. As I have said, this is the reddest of red herrings.

“At the current rate of progress, Turkey could qualify to join in about the year 3000.”

Meanwhile in Albania the EU has demanded officials take control of rampant corruption and organised crime while making key changes to their governmental systems before they are brought into the fold.

And Eurocrats have told the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia to prepare their nation to assimilate EU law – and deal with issues between the state and Greece.

Greece has long refused to let the nation join over their name, with Hellenic officials accusing the former Yugoslav republic of stealing Macedonias heritage from them.

Serbia and Montenegro are both making process through the bureaucracy of Brussels, with Montenegro close to negotiating entry and Serbia being offered the chance to make its case for membership.

Meanwhile the EU’s attempt to link up with Russian allies could cause chaos in the region.

In 2014 hundreds of people died in Ukraine during brutal mass protests after the Russia aligned president Viktor Yanukovych refused to let his nation join the EU.

The Euromaidan revolution also led to the annexation of Crimea by Russian troops, who took advantage of the chaos to push further into Europe.

The European Parliament said Russia was putting “strong resistance” on further cooperation between the EU and allied states. 

But Lithuanian EPP member Laima Andrikiene, who authored a new report on the scheme, said Russian aggression had accelerated the process. 

She said: “The changes are due to the military aggression of Russia against Ukraine in 2014, the annexation of Crimea and continuing occupation of Eastern Ukraine by Russian proxies, as well as Kremlin-steered frozen conflicts which remain unresolved in Moldova and Georgia.

“The creation of an Eastern Partnership Plus model for associated countries with the possibility of a future membership in the customs, energy and digital union is crucial.”