One of the few changes proposed by the Action Programme during the Prague Spring that was actually achieved was the federalization of the country. Although it was mostly a formality during the normalization period, Czechoslovakia had been federalized under the Constitutional Law of Federation of 27 October 1968. The newly created Federal Assembly (i.e., federal parliament), which replaced the National Assembly, was intended to work in close cooperation with the Czech National Council and the Slovak National Council (i.e., national parliaments). The Gustáv Husák regime amended the law in January 1971 so that, while federalism was retained in form, central authority was effectively restored.