ABSTRACT
Immediately after the first free election in the former German Democratic Republic (GDR) and the decision of its people to be reunited with the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG), the European Council in its meeting of April 1990 in Dublin welcomed German unification under the ceiling of Europe. The European Council decided that the economic integration of the former GDR in Europe should take place as soon as German unification occurred. The transitional arrangements of the treaty of unification between the GDR and the FRG should be accordingly considered. The full integration of the former GDR into the European Community (EC) should be realized without new alterations of the treaties. This assessment was underlined again in the resolution of 17 May of the European Parliament.
