The Vienna European Council (11 - 12.12.1998)

In its conclusions on Enlargement the Vienna European Council applauded the fact that the whole process of Enlargement has progressed and expressed satisfaction on the preparation of the Progress Reports by the European Commission. The European Council repeated that each condidacy will be examined on the basis of its particular conditions and requested the Commission to submit new Progress Reports in view of the Helsinki European Council in December 1999.

In addition, the leaders of the 15 member states declared satisfaction that the 6 countries in the first wave of accession negotiations (Cyprus, Hungary, Poland, Estonia, Slovenia and Czech Republic) have started substantial negotiations and have come to the first conclusions. They called upon the Council, the Commission and the candidate countries to maintain the dynamic that has been created so as to undertake more intensive negotiations in the first part of 1999.

The European Council decided to create a new dynamic with respect to the other 5 accession candidate countries (Rumania, Slovakia, Bulgaria, Latvia and Lithuania) through the initiation in early 1999 of the bilateral analytical examination of the degree of adoption of the acquis communautaire.

The European Council also welcomed the decision of Malta to reactivate its application for accession to the EU, and also stressed the importance which it attaches for the further development of Euro-Turkish relations.