we'll be taking you to ukraine, poland, latvia, cyprus, and serbia. we are high above the rooftops of russells. europe's top politicians often have their sights set on too. whenever important decisions have to be made about the eu, they call a summit meeting. >> the year was 1990 seven when a climbing party of five countries embarked on their ascent of mount europe. their mission was to conquer the summit in luxembourg. in hindsight, it was an adventure to remember. >> some countries were faster -- slovenia, hungary, czech republic. estonia, i think, as well. but the others -- i think the status of those countries was stimulus for the others to proceed faster. >> for example, cyprus, who caught up as the summit loomed on the horizon. the first task was to meet the economic and political conditions. they needed a solid base camp with stable democracy. their guide, the european commissioner for enlargement at the time knew it was an ambitious climb, and he had to convince the long-term summit dwellers, above all, france. >> the point was not that they r