In 1992, the Maastricht Treaty was signed, which paved the way for the creation of the European Union.

The Maastricht Treaty is better known as the European Union Treaty, since with it, the path that would lead in 2002 to the entry into circulation of the common European currency - the euro, began.

The negotiations for the Maastricht Treaty were born with the will to realize among the member states of the Community, an integration in the economic policy sector, through a strong economic alignment of the member countries, through the introduction of a single European currency.

The Maastricht Treaty is not only important because it marks the first concrete step towards the Economic and Monetary Union, but because through it it was passed to the European Community and the European Union, the cooperation between the member states in the field of foreign policy was strengthened and the concept was reached of the European citizen.

In June 1992, through a referendum, Denmark said "NO" to the ratification of the Maastricht Treaty. Meanwhile, in France, the Maastricht Treaty, put up for referendum, receives only 50.4 percent of the vote: a half-victory and a stopping blow for Europe. But despite all these difficulties, the Maastricht Treaty moved forward, political solutions were sought based on the results of the Danish referendum, and little by little the "no" of the French was overcome.

The Maastricht Treaty was officially signed by the ministers of foreign affairs of the member countries on February 7, 1992, in a small town in the Netherlands, from which it got its name, near the border with Germany and Belgium. But the Maastricht Treaty, immediately after its signing, did not have an easy life. Precisely because it marked an important step forward in the process of European integration, some countries did not receive it well.

From the importance it had and the foundations it laid, it can be said that it went much further than the economic objective, which the Community had defined at the beginning. It marked a new stage in the process "of a continued closer union between the peoples of Europe", thus clothing the economic objective with a political spirit.

With its entry into force on November 1, 1993, the European Union was created with 12 member countries of the Community, which were: Belgium, Denmark, France, Greece, Germany, the Netherlands, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, the United Kingdom, Portugal and Spain. The number of members would increase to 15 in 1995.

In its entirety, the Maastricht Treaty can be summarized in three main elements or three pillars

- First, the clothing of the European Community (which replaced the European Economic Community), with extensive supranational powers;

- Second, cooperation in the field of a common foreign and security policy;

- Thirdly, cooperation in the field of internal relations and justice.

The Maastricht Treaty recognises European citizenship for every person holding the nationality of a Member State of the European Union. In this way, European citizenship is conditional on national citizenship, but in addition, it also grants several new additional rights:

- the right of movement and free residence in the countries of the Community;         

- the right to be protected, abroad, by the embassy or consulate of each member country;

- the right to vote and to be elected in the country of residence, for European and municipal elections, with certain conditions;

- the right to petition the European Parliament;

- the right to complain to the European Ombudsman regarding problems in the functioning of the Community administration. An economic and monetary union

The decision to create a common currency on January 1, 1999, under the guidance of the European Central Bank, was the final step of economic and monetary integration within the common market. The economic and monetary union was realized in three stages:

- First, the liberalization of capital movements, a stage which ended on December 31, 1993.

- Secondly, the coordination of the economic policies of member countries, with the aim of reducing inflation, interest rates and exchange rate fluctuations, as well as limiting the deficits and debt of member countries.

The establishment of these criteria, which are known as the "Maastricht criteria", was the precondition for ensuring the convergence of the economies of the member countries, which in turn is a necessary condition for the transition to a common currency. This is the reason why the Maastricht criteria are also called "convergence criteria".

The transition to the common currency was prepared by the European Monetary Institute, the forerunner of the European central bank.

- Third and finally, the creation of a common currency on January 1, 1999, and of the European Central Bank.

Expanding the powers of the Community

With the Maastricht Treaty, community competences were extended to other areas such as: education, professional training, culture, public health, consumer protection, trans-European networks, industrial policies. The extension of these powers was based on the principle of subsidiarity, which means that these powers were extended to the extent that the envisaged objectives could not be fully realized by the member states at the national or local level. So, the community initiatives were not intended to replace the initiatives of each member country at the national level, but were considered as a complement to the latter.

With the Maastricht Treaty, even social policy becomes part of the Community field. The social protocol, although not signed by the United Kingdom, was included in the Annexes to the Treaty. Thus, from all member countries (with the exception of the United Kingdom), common provisions were adopted regarding working conditions, equality between men and women, the integration of persons excluded from the labor market, social security, etc. Common foreign and security policy

The second pillar of the Maastricht Treaty, which relies on the mechanism of political cooperation institutionalized by the Single Act, concerns the drafting of a common foreign and security policy. This policy would enable the undertaking of joint actions in the field of foreign policy.

In this perspective, the decision-making had to be unanimous, while the accompanying measures were approved by the majority of votes.

The policies undertaken by the EU in the field of security have as their objective the common defense, relying on the union of Western Europe. Always in this view, member countries can act on their own account, but provided that their actions do not contradict the decisions adopted together. Home Affairs and Justice

The third pillar of the Treaty was conceived to facilitate and ensure the free movement of individuals between EU countries.

Here too, decisions are taken unanimously - they cover the following areas:

- the rules for crossing the external borders of the Community area and the strengthening of controls (starting from 1996, measures taken in relation to visas must be approved by a majority vote; however, a country may adopt provisions necessary for the purpose of internal security and public order);

- the fight against terrorism, crime, drug trafficking and international fraud;

- cooperation in the field of criminal and civil justice;

- the creation of the European Police Office (Europol), equipped with an information exchange system between the police of member countries;

- the fight against illegal migration;

- common asylum policies.

Treaty Review

The Treaty also foresees its revision, mainly related to community institutions, in the conditions of enlargement. The intergovernmental conference convened in 1996-97 was finalized with the signing by the governments of the member countries of another Treaty, that of Amsterdam, which was a continuation of the areas and powers provided for in the Maastricht Treaty.