The Republic of Albania (Albanian: Republika e Shqipërisë, IPA or simply Shqipëria) is a Balkan country in Southeastern Europe. It borders Montenegro to the north, Serbia to the northeast, the Republic of Macedonia to the east, and Greece to the south. It has a coast on the Adriatic Sea to the west and a coast on the Ionian Sea to the southwest. Despite its troubled history of foreign rule and internal conflict, the country has been classified as an emerging democracy since the 1990s. Albania is continuing to work toward joining NATO and the European Union.