On November 10 1998, the European Union began accession negotiations with the six countries to be considered in the first wave of enlarged membership: Poland, Hungary, Estonia, the Czech Republic, Slovenia, and Cyprus. This was the first step in a long process that would shift the center of gravity in the European Community eastwards. In this collection of its regular reports on candidate...

With the recent expansion of the European Union into Eastern Europe, there has been an increased level of interest around various policy issues in the region. The European Policy Institutes Network (EPIN) is one such organization that is interested in these pressing matters, and includes over 40 member think tanks spread across 28 countries. As the website notes, "EPIN aims to contribute to the...

The European Commission released its opinions on the ten applications for EU membership from Central and Eastern Europe in July 1997. They were released with documents outlining the "Agenda 2000" program, which "comprises the Commission's proposals for agricultural, structural and horizontal policies, a reinforced preaccession strategy, and the financial framework beyond 1999." At the EU's US...