1990 German reunification treaty (Two Plus Four Treaty)

1990 German reunification treaty (Two Plus Four Treaty)
Name	Treaty on the Final Settlement with Respect to Germany
Other names	Two Plus Four Treaty
Signed	12 September 1990
Location signed	Moscow
Effective	15 March 1991
Parties	Federal Republic of Germany; German Democratic Republic; United States of America; Union of Soviet Socialist Republics; United Kingdom; France
Language	German language; Russian language; English language; French language

1990 German reunification treaty (Two Plus Four Treaty) The Treaty on the Final Settlement with Respect to Germany, commonly known as the Two Plus Four Treaty, was the diplomatic agreement that completed the process of German reunification in 1990. It involved the two German states and the four victorious Allied powers of World War II and resolved questions of external sovereignty, borders, and military arrangements. The treaty enabled the Federal Republic of Germany to assume full sovereignty while addressing the interests of the United States of America, the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics, the United Kingdom, and France.

Background

In the late 1980s the political transformations associated with Perestroika and Glasnost in the Soviet Union coincided with mass movements in the German Democratic Republic that culminated in the Peaceful Revolution (East Germany). The fall of the Berlin Wall on 9 November 1989 accelerated talks between leaders including Helmut Kohl, Mikhail Gorbachev, George H. W. Bush, Margaret Thatcher, and François Mitterrand. Previous frameworks such as the Potsdam Conference, the Yalta Conference, and the Allied Control Council had left Germany with unresolved status issues, prompting a final settlement negotiated in 1990. The collapse of the Warsaw Pact and transformations in Central Europe set the strategic context for the treaty.

Negotiations and Signatories

Negotiations took place among the two German states—the Federal Republic of Germany and the German Democratic Republic—and the four former Allied powers: the United States of America, the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics, the United Kingdom, and France. Key officials included Helmut Kohl for the CDU-led government, Lothar de Maizière from the Alliance for Germany, Mikhail Gorbachev for the Communist Party of the Soviet Union, James Baker for the United States Department of State, Douglas Hurd for the Foreign and Commonwealth Office, and Roland Dumas for the French Ministry of Foreign Affairs. The treaty text was finalized in Moscow and signed on 12 September 1990, with ratification later involving the Bundestag and the legislatures of the former German Democratic Republic.

Key Provisions

The treaty confirmed the full external sovereignty of the unified Federal Republic of Germany and addressed the international legal status arising from World War II and the Potsdam Agreement. It enshrined the inviolability of the borders of the unified state, implicitly reaffirming the Oder–Neisse line as the frontier with Poland. The signatories agreed on limitations concerning armed forces, the stationing of foreign troops, and the non-deployment of certain weapon systems on German territory. The treaty also set temporal and procedural conditions for the withdrawal of Soviet Armed Forces in Germany and the continued presence of NATO forces, connecting with instruments such as the North Atlantic Treaty and bilateral arrangements with Poland and Czech Republic successor states.

Military and Security Arrangements

Military clauses limited the size of the future German armed forces and prohibited nuclear, biological, and chemical weapons on its territory, provisions that intersected with the policies of Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty signatories and the strategic posture of NATO. The treaty specified the withdrawal timetable for Group of Soviet Forces in Germany units and mandated the removal of Soviet military bases and Soviet tanks from former East Germany. It enabled the unified state to join NATO while addressing Soviet concerns through assurances about troop deployments and the absence of foreign nuclear weapons in the east. These arrangements interacted with initiatives such as the Conventional Armed Forces in Europe Treaty and wider European security dialogues.

Sovereignty and Borders

The treaty provided that the unified Federal Republic of Germany would have full sovereignty "in international relations" and that foreign forces would be subject to agreed limits, thereby resolving residual occupation status stemming from the Allied occupation of Germany. It incorporated border confirmation measures, effectively ending territorial claims related to the legacy of the Second World War and the agreements of Potsdam. The reaffirmation of the Oder–Neisse line was of central importance to Poland and to regional stability involving countries such as the Czech Republic and Slovakia.

Implementation and Ratification

Ratification involved parliamentary procedures in the Bundestag and the legislatures of the German Democratic Republic prior to reunification on 3 October 1990. The Supreme Soviet of the Soviet Union and the parliaments of the United States of America, the United Kingdom, and France completed their respective approval processes, and the treaty entered into force on 15 March 1991. Implementation required coordination for the withdrawal of Soviet Armed Forces in Germany, logistical arrangements for base closures, and political measures undertaken by Helmut Kohl's administration to integrate institutions, currencies, and legal systems.

Impact and Legacy

The treaty decisively shaped post‑Cold War Europe by enabling the expansion of NATO and advancing the process of European integration that would involve institutions such as the European Community and later the European Union. It influenced security architectures addressed at venues like the Treaty on Conventional Armed Forces in Europe negotiations and underpinned relationships among leaders including Willy Brandt's legacy and the policies of successors such as Gerhard Schröder and Angela Merkel. The settlement remains a reference point in debates over Russian Federation–NATO relations, the status of Central Europe, and interpretations of post‑Cold War commitments embodied by figures like Mikhail Gorbachev and George H. W. Bush. The treaty's confirmation of borders and sovereignty continues to affect diplomacy with states such as Poland and institutions including the Council of Europe.

Category:Treaties of Germany Category:1990 in Germany Category:Cold War treaties