The political dialogue between the EU and Ukraine started in 1994 when the Partnership and Cooperation Agreement (PCA) was signed. That document was focused on economic and social issues as well as on the necessity of improving public government and guaranteeing free press and civil rights. The framework set for political discussions was modest: yearly meeting between EU Troika and Ukrainian leadership and some inter ministerial consultations. The Partnership and Cooperation Agreement of 1994 entered into force in 1998 and expired in 2008. The first EU-Ukraine summit took place in September 1997 in Kyiv. During the second summit in October 1998 in Vienna, Ukraine–EU relations were defined as a "strategic and unique partnership" and Ukraine first declared its desire to acquire associate membership in the EU. None of top level meetings brought major changes to a reserved EU approach. Leaders focused chiefly on post-communism economic transition and human rights records as well as on issues connected to the Chernobyl nuclear power plant and its containment.