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.