Implementation of these steps and other growth-promoting reforms are the most crucial actions Russia can take to build confidence. The European Council continues to back the active engagement of the IMF and the World Bank in support of Russian reforms. It notes that the Member States are ready to consider additional conditional support from these institutions as necessary and appropriate. Recalling its conclusion at Luxembourg, the European Council notes the relevance of the Finnish proposal for a Northern Dimension in the policies of the Union and the Commission's intention to submit a report for consideration at its next meeting in Vienna. It reiterates the commitment of the EU to help Russian efforts to tackle the problem of spent nuclear fuel and nuclear waste in North-West Russia and notes that such work might be taken forward under the proposed Northern Dimension.
Regional cooperation plays a major role in stability and prosperity in Europe.
The European Council notes with satisfaction reports submitted by the Commission in line with its undertaking entered into at the Dublin European Council on regional cooperation in the Black Sea, Central Europe and south eastern Europe in particular. It calls on the Council to examine these reports. The European Council noted the Finnish proposal concerning a northern dimension for the policies of the Union and requests the Commission to submit an interim report on this subject at a forthcoming European Council meeting in 1998.