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Chapter 3: The Opening Up of the Alliance Partnership for Peace   Aim and scope Partnership for Peace (PfP) is a major initiative introduced by NATO at the January 1994 Brussels Summit Meeting of the North Atlantic Council. The aim of the Partnership is to enhance stability and security throughout Europe. The Partnership for Peace Invitation was addressed to all states participating in the North Atlantic Cooperation Council (NACC) 1 and other states participating in the Conference for Security and Cooperation in Europe (CSCE) 2 able and willing to contribute to the programme. The invitation has since been accepted by a total of 30 countries. The accession to the Alliance of the three former PfP countries Czech Republic, Hungary and Poland brings the current number of PfP participants to 27. The activities which each Partner undertakes are based on jointly elaborated Individual Partnership Programmes. The PfP programme focuses on defence-related cooperation but goes beyond dialogue and cooperation to forge a real partnership between each Partner country and NATO. It has become an important and permanent feature of the European security architecture and is helping to expand and intensify political and military cooperation throughout Europe. The programme is helping to increase stability, to diminish threats to peace and to build strengthened security relationships based on the practical cooperation and commitment to democratic principles which underpin the Alliance. In accordance with the PfP Framework Document which was issued by Heads of State and Government at the same time as the PfP Invitation Document, NATO undertakes to consult with any active Partner if that Partner perceives a direct threat to its territorial integrity, political independence, or security. All members of PfP are also members of the Euro-Atlantic Partnership Council (EAPC) which provides the overall framework for cooperation between NATO and its Partner countries. However, the Partnership for Peace retains its own separate identity within the framework provided by the EAPC and maintains its own basic elements and procedures. It is founded on the basis of a bilateral relationship between NATO and each one of the PfP countries. The NACC was replaced by the Euro-Atlantic Partnership Council (EAPC) in May 1997. The EAPC has 46 member Countries. The Conference on Security and Cooperation in Europe (CSCE) became an Organisation (OSCE) at the beginning of 1995. It has 55 member states, comprising all European states together with the United States and Canada.