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The virtual rejection of the European Defense Community (EDC) treaty by the French National Assembly on August 30, 1954, was followed by a period of intensive high level negotiations, culminating with the signature on October 23 of a series of agreements dealing with 1) restoration of sovereignty to the German Federal Republic, 2) admission of the German Federal Republic to NATO, 3) transformation of the Brussels Treaty Organization (BTO) into a broader political and military alliance and the admission of the German Federal Republic and Italy, and 4) the basis for a German-French agreement on the status of the Saar.

On January 17, representatives of the seven signatories of the Western European Union (WEU) met in Paris to consider French proposals for the creation of a European arms control agency, commonly called an arms pool. According to press reports, the French plan envisaged the creation of an arms community whose functions would extend to standardization of arms, establishment of programs of production and placing of orders for arms in member countries, carrying into force of the programs, and planning and coordination of investments to develop production. It was understood that no extension of productive capacity could take place within the community without the permission of a central authority and that agreements would be made with the United States and Canada to integrate military aid programs and offshore procurement policies into the over-all program. The new organization would come into operation in two stages: the first, to extend to the end of 1956, would be a transitional stage in which decisions would be taken unanimously by representatives of governments choosing to belong to a military standardization committee and an armaments production committee; in the second stage, from the beginning of 1957, a definitive regime of an arms community would come into action, composed of a director and a permanent committee of ministers of defense under the authority of the WEU Council. Decisions of the permanent body would require the consent of two-thirds of its members, except on questions of standardization which would require unanimity. An alternative to the permanent committee envisaged in the second phase of the program would be the appointment of commissioners, independent of governments, by the WEU Council which would make decisions by a majority vote.

The European Strategy for Tobacco Control (ESTC) reflects the increased political commitment to, and public health expectations of, tobacco control in WHO's European Region. It was adopted by the WHO Regional Committee for Europe at its fifty-second session in September 2002 and provides an evidence-based framework and guidance for effective national action and international cooperation. The ESTC builds on the lessons learnt from assessment of the three consecutive European Action Plans (1987–2001), the guiding principles set out in the Warsaw Declaration for a Tobacco-free Europe (February 2002), and the evidence underpinning tobacco control policy at national, regional and international level. The ESTC sets out strategic directions for action in the Region, to be carried out through national policies, legislation and action plans. It also makes recommendations regarding monitoring, evaluating and reporting on tobacco use and tobacco control policies. Finally, it specifies mechanisms, tools and a timeframe for international cooperation. The ESTC is an ongoing process, to be regularly reviewed and strategically adapted as appropriate.