ABSTRACT
Europe has hung about arguing on the station platform while history's trains have departed. The train of history, which European elites seem determined to drive, is the decommunization of Eastern and Central Europe in 1989. Inspired by the momentum of history, European decisionmakers began building on two decades of serious efforts and giving even more consideration to the European Community's (EC) international role. The EC has the opportunity to be a major actor, if not the major actor, in Eastern and Central Europe. EC member countries are keenly interested in reforming traditional security arrangements and having a greater impact on global affairs. European Council participation in world affairs has been characterized by extraordinarily high visibility. To have reached this point, however, a number of significant events took place. To understand the role of the EC, people must review these events.
