ABSTRACT
The Western European Union (WEU) was an attractive organisation as far as prospective new members were concerned. Thoughout the 1990s, amidst the debate about institutional adaptation, the issue of the enlargement of western organisations was constantly under consideration. The linkage of the WEU to the European Union and North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO) held considerable potential for prospective members. Central and east European countries believed that the experience of previous enlargements of the WEU encouraged them to feel optimistic about early membership. The Maastricht negotiations had demonstrated the apparent willingness of the WEU to modify itself in order to embrace the broadest cross-section of countries. At the Vianden meeting in June 1991, the WEU Council took its first steps towards a policy of deepening its relationship with central and eastern Europe countries. The WEU chose the Visegrad states because they were regarded as the most economically and politically advanced in central Europe, with highly developed civil societies.
