Economic Impact of the EU Enlargement on Austrian Regions

In June 1993, the European Council of Copenhagen held out the prospect of membership of the European Union to the associated Central and Eastern European countries (CEECs), once they were in a position to fulfil the obligations attendant to membership and meet the requisite economic and political conditions. Subsequently, the EU Commission prepared comprehensive statements (avis) on the applications filed by ten associated countries in all. These statements provided the basis for the Council’s decision to enter into negotiations, starting in March 1998, with an initial, limited group of applicants (Estonia, Poland, Slovenia, the Czech Republic and Hungary).