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Why was the Maastricht Treaty agreed?

Important agreements such as the Maastricht Treaty are not concluded out of the blue The treaty was the result of a long and complicated process. That process dates back to the 1950s, when the founding nations of European integration (Belgium, France, Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands and West Germany) took the first steps towards a united Europe.

Common European market

The Treaties of Rome, agreed in 1957, laid the foundation for amongst others a common European market, which provides for the free movement of people, goods, services and capital between the member states.

Treaties of Rome

With the Treaties of Rome in 1957, Belgium, France, Germany, Italy, Luxembourg and the Netherlands founded amongst others the European Economic Community, the main predecessor of the EU. After the creation of the EEC, the European Community soon became the collective name for the countries involved in European integration.

Common currency?

By the late 1980s, the time seemed ripe for a major step in European integration: the introduction of a single European currency. This would make trade between the now twelve member states even easier.

Businesses and banks supported the initiative, as did some politicians and the European Commission. Advocates of a European federation (a ‘super state’) also saw the introduction of a single currency as a way of moving one step closer to their ideal. But there were doubts, too. For the member states, giving up their own currency was a radical step. West Germany in particular placed great value on its national currency: the German mark was of such importance to the global economy that it gave the Germans a great deal of influence on the European stage.

1989

The wonder year of 1989 accelerated the debate on a single European currency. On 9 November, the Berlin Wall fell – a momentous occasion initiated the end of the Cold War and the Iron Curtain, which had divided Europe (and Germany) ever since the end of World War II. There was much euphoria, but also fear.

West and East Germany wanted to become one country again. This would create a new and more powerful Germany that could once more dominate its neighbours. The French and German governments, led by President François Mitterrand and Chancellor Helmut Kohl, came up with a proposal: German unification would be allowed to go ahead only if the united Germany was firmly embedded in a new and closer European partnership.

European Union

This partnership became the EU, with a single European currency as its most important safeguard: this new currency would tie the member states more closely together and facilitate mutual trade.

In addition, by abolishing the German mark, the single currency would provide a counterweight to the economic power of the German giant. This clever plan, which would maintain the balance of power in Europe after the Cold War while simultaneously fostering European integration, was ultimately set in motion with the signing of the Maastricht Treaty.

Why Maastricht?

The European summit was held in Maastricht in December 1991, when the Netherlands held the six-monthly presidency of the European Community. Major European summits now take place in Brussels, but in those days they were also organised by the country that held the rotating EC presidency.

The Dutch government chose Maastricht partly because of its proximity to Brussels, which was already the main locus of European meetings. Maastricht was also appealing because it possessed the necessary experience, having previously organised a European summit in 1981.

Diplomatic thriller

The Maastricht summit of 9 and 10 December 1991 became an exciting affair. All heads of government of the European Community were present, including the French president François Mitterrand, the German chancellor Helmut Kohl and the British prime minister John Major. Their officials and advisers, working with the European Commission and the Netherlands as EC president, had already prepared most of the agreements made in Maastricht during feverish negotiations leading up to the summit. But despite the intensive preparations, it was by no means certain that the summit would succeed; the creation of the EU was hanging by a thread.

British objections

All member states had their doubts about this great leap forwards. Great Britain was particularly concerned, seeing no benefit in the introduction of a common currency. Partly as a result of intensive lobbying by the Dutch prime minister Ruud Lubbers and minister of foreign affairs Hans van den Broek, the British delegation was persuaded to refrain from using its vetoing the treaty altogether. In exchange for Britain being allowed to opt out of adopting the euro, Prime Minister John Major ultimately signed the historical treaty.

Brexit

The British struggle with the Maastricht Treaty and the introduction of a common European currency is now widely considered to be the beginning of Brexit. The British decision to opt-out of the introduction of the euro can be seen as the first actual step out off the EU.

The treaty today

The Maastricht Treaty continues to be highly influential. Because it forms part of the legal foundations of the EU, it still shapes how member states work together today.

The loose threads of Maastricht

At the same time, the Maastricht Treaty left a number of highly important issues open. The member states were unable to agree on whether the EU should become a genuine political union, with many more national powers transferred to the joint European institutions in Brussels (e.g. the European Commission and the European Parliament). Nor did they specify how the EU should be reformed when new countries join the club, and what role the EU ought to play on the world stage.

These and other delicate issues have only become more urgent over time. But finding joint solutions is not getting any easier, particularly given the steady growth in the number of EU countries since 1992. And this in turn has consequences for European cooperation and the ability to act decisively on pressing issues: consider the euro crisis, the refugee crisis, and the EU’s relationship with the United States and China.

The legacy of the Maastricht Treaty in Europe is both complex and far-reaching. It can be seen not only at the European level, but also at the national and local levels. And it is often closer than you think: in your wallet, your city, your supermarket, on the street, at school and at work.