Heads of State sign Treaty on Conventional Armed Forces in Europe

At the Paris Summit, Heads of State or Government of CSCE participating States signed the Treaty on Conventional Armed Forces in Europe, a cornerstone of conventional stability and security from the Atlantic to the Urals. (OSCE)
At the Paris Summit, Heads of State or Government of CSCE participating States signed the Treaty on Conventional Armed Forces in Europe, a cornerstone of conventional stability and security from the Atlantic to the Urals. (OSCE)

When: 19 November 1990

Where: Paris

Signed at the Paris Summit, the CFE Treaty outlined provisions that aim to establish a military balance between the two alliances, at a lower level of armaments. It laid out equal ceilings for major weapons and equipment systems, which were subsequently translated into national limits for each individual State Party to the Treaty.

The treaty stipulated that arms or equipment over the agreed limits must be destroyed within 40 months of the Treaty entering into force, and called for stringent information exchange and verification programmes.

A special body in Vienna, the Joint Consultative Group, was set up to deal with questions of compliance with the Treaty's provisions.