Maastricht Treaty
Signed - location	February 7, 1992 Maastricht, Netherlands
Effective	November 1, 1993
Signatories	1992 EC members
Languages	10 Danish Dutch English French German Greek Irish Italian Portuguese Spanish
	Wikisource original text: Treaty on European Union

The Maastricht Treaty (formally, the Treaty on European Union, TEU) was signed on February 7, 1992 in Maastricht, the Netherlands after final negotiations on December 9, 1991 between the members of the European Community and entered into force on November 1, 1993 during the Delors Commission. Events 457 - Leo I becomes emperor of the Byzantine Empire. 1074 - Battle of Montesarchio in which the Prince Year 1992 ( MCMXCII) was a Leap year starting on Wednesday (link will display full 1992 Gregorian calendar) Maastricht ( Dutch; Limburgish and city dialect Mestreech; French: Maestricht or Maëstricht; Spanish: The Netherlands ( Dutch:, ˈnedərlɑnt is the European part of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, which consists of the Netherlands the Netherlands Events 996 - Emperor Otto III issues a deed to Gottschalk Bishop of Freising which is the oldest known document using the name Ostarrîchi Year 1993 ( MCMXCIII) was a Common year starting on Friday (link will display full 1993 Gregorian calendar) A Member State of the European Union is any one of the twenty-seven sovereign Nation states that have acceded the European Union (EU since its De facto Danish ( d̥ænsɡ̊ is one of the North Germanic languages (also called Scandinavian languages a sub-group of the Germanic branch of the Dutch ( is a West Germanic language spoken by around 24 million people 22 million of which are from the Netherlands, Belgium and Suriname English is a West Germanic language originating in England and is the First language for most people in the United Kingdom, the United States French ( français,) is a Romance language spoken around the world by 118 million people as a native language and by about 180 to 260 million people The German language (de ''Deutsch'') is a West Germanic language and one of the world's major languages. Greek (el ελληνική γλώσσα or simply el ελληνικά — "Hellenic" is an Indo-European language, spoken today by 15-22 million people mainly Irish (ga ''Gaeilge'' is a Goidelic language of the Indo-European language family originating in Ireland and historically spoken by the Irish. Italian ( or lingua italiana) is a Romance language spoken by about 63 million people as a First language, primarily in Italy. Portuguese ( or língua portuguesa) is a Romance language that originated in what is now Galicia (Spain and northern Portugal. Wikisource is a Wikimedia project to build a free, Wiki Library of Source texts along with translations into any language Events 457 - Leo I becomes emperor of the Byzantine Empire. 1074 - Battle of Montesarchio in which the Prince Year 1992 ( MCMXCII) was a Leap year starting on Wednesday (link will display full 1992 Gregorian calendar) Maastricht ( Dutch; Limburgish and city dialect Mestreech; French: Maestricht or Maëstricht; Spanish: The Netherlands ( Dutch:, ˈnedərlɑnt is the European part of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, which consists of the Netherlands the Netherlands The European Community (EC is one of the Three pillars of the European Union (EU created under the Maastricht Treaty (1992 Events 996 - Emperor Otto III issues a deed to Gottschalk Bishop of Freising which is the oldest known document using the name Ostarrîchi Year 1993 ( MCMXCIII) was a Common year starting on Friday (link will display full 1993 Gregorian calendar) The Delors Commission was the administration of Jacques Delors, the 8th President of the European Commission, over the Commission of the European Communities It led to the creation of the European Union and was the result of separate negotiations on monetary union and on political union. The European Union ( EU) is a political and economic union of twenty-seven member states, located primarily in The Maastricht Treaty has been amended to a degree by later treaties.

Content

The signing of the Treaty

A separate protocol linked to the treaty led to the creation of the euro, and introduced the Three pillars of the European Union (the European Communities pillar, the Common Foreign and Security Policy or CFSP pillar, and the Justice and Home Affairs pillar). Please update other articles as well to avoid contradiction within Wikipedia e The Treaty of Maastricht, which established the European Union, divided EU policies into three main areas called pillars. The European Community (EC is one of the Three pillars of the European Union (EU created under the Maastricht Treaty (1992 This article deals with the workings of European Union foreign policy Police and Judicial Co-operation in Criminal Matters (PJC formally Justice and Home Affairs (JHA is the third of the three pillars of the European Union The CFSP pillar was built on the foundation of European Political Cooperation (EPC), but brought it under a treaty and extended it. The European Political Cooperation (EPC was introduced in 1970 and was the synonym for European Union foreign policy coordination until it was superseded by the Common The JHA pillar introduced cooperation in law enforcement, criminal justice, civil judicial matters, and asylum and immigration. Originally, the European Community (EC) dealt mainly with economic, social and trade matters. The European Community (EC is one of the Three pillars of the European Union (EU created under the Maastricht Treaty (1992 The European Commission and the European Court of Justice, both operationally independent from the national governments, although appointed by them, had a lot of power within the system. The European Commission (formally the Commission of the European Communities) is the executive branch of the European Union. This article refers to the European Union court not the European Court of Human Rights of the Council of Europe The Court of Justice The European Parliament, which was directly elected by the citizens of the EC member states, also had some power. The European Parliament ( Europarl or EP) is the only directly elected parliamentary institution of the European Union (EU The Governments retained the most power in the Council of Ministers, but since the mid-1980s had increasingly been taking decisions through qualified majority votes (about 71% of the votes). This system was called the Community method, or supranationalism, as institutions not directly controlled by the governments wielded significant power, and members could have decisions they disagreed with imposed upon them through majority votes. Supranationalism is a method of decision-making in political communities wherein power is democratically entrusted to independent experienced appointed personalities or to representatives

It was desired to add competencies in foreign policy, military and criminal matters to the European Community. However, many member states considered that these areas were too sensitive to be managed by the mechanisms of the European Community, and that the power of governments in relation to these areas had to be stronger than the powers of governments in the European Community. That is, an intergovernmental, as opposed to supranational, system would have to be used. Other member states feared that this might threaten the power of the independent supranational institutions (the European Commission, European Court of Justice and European Parliament) in relation to the economic matters then dealt with by the European Community. The European Commission (formally the Commission of the European Communities) is the executive branch of the European Union. This article refers to the European Union court not the European Court of Human Rights of the Council of Europe The Court of Justice The European Parliament ( Europarl or EP) is the only directly elected parliamentary institution of the European Union (EU The three pillar structure was then developed to isolate the traditional Community responsibilities in the area of the economy (the Community Pillar) from the new competencies in the areas of foreign policy and military matters (the CFSP pillar) and criminal matters (the JHA pillar). The Maastricht treaty created also the position of the Ombudsman.

Ratification

The process of ratifying the treaty was fraught with difficulties in three states. Denmark first rejected the treaty on 2 June 1992 by fewer than 50,000 votes in a referendum. The Kingdom of Denmark ( ˈd̥ænmɑɡ̊ (archaic ˈd̥anmɑːɡ̊ commonly known as Denmark, is a country in the Scandinavian region of northern Europe The Danish Maastricht Treaty referendum of 1992 was a Referendum in which Danish voters rejected ratification of the Maastricht Treaty. Events 455 - The Vandals enter Rome, and plunder the city for two weeks Year 1992 ( MCMXCII) was a Leap year starting on Wednesday (link will display full 1992 Gregorian calendar) This sparked a referendum in France which only narrowly supported it, with 51. On September 20 1992 France held a referendum on the ratification of the Maastricht Treaty. 05% in favour. The treaty was ratified by Denmark on 18 May 1993 with the addition of the Edinburgh Agreement which lists four Danish exceptions. The Danish Maastricht Treaty referendum of 1993 was a Referendum on whether Denmark should ratify the Maastricht Treaty which had already been rejected The Kingdom of Denmark ( ˈd̥ænmɑɡ̊ (archaic ˈd̥anmɑːɡ̊ commonly known as Denmark, is a country in the Scandinavian region of northern Europe Events 1152 - Henry II of England marries Eleanor of Aquitaine. Year 1993 ( MCMXCIII) was a Common year starting on Friday (link will display full 1993 Gregorian calendar) The Edinburgh Agreement or Edinburgh Decision is a December 1992 agreement reached at a European Council meeting in Edinburgh, Scotland, that In the United Kingdom, an opt-out from the treaty's social provisions was opposed in Parliament by the opposition Labour and Liberal Democrat MPs and the treaty itself by the Maastricht Rebels within the governing Conservative Party. The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom, the UK or Britain,is a Sovereign state located The Parliament of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is the supreme legislative body in the United Kingdom and British overseas territories The Labour Party is a Political party in the United Kingdom. Founded at the start of the 20th century it has been since the 1920s the principal party of the The Liberal Democrats, often shortened to Lib Dems, are a liberal Political party in the United Kingdom, formed in 1988 by merging the The Maastricht Rebels were British Members of Parliament (MPs belonging to the then governing Conservative Party who refused to support the government of John The Conservative Party (officially the Conservative and Unionist Party) is a Political party in the United Kingdom. The number of rebels exceeded the Conservative majority in the House of Commons, and thus the government of John Major came close to losing the confidence of the House. The House of Commons' is the Lower house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom, which also comprises the Sovereign and the House of Lords Sir John Major KG CH ACIB (born 29 March 1943 is a British Politician who was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom In Political science confidence refers to a Government 's support in the Legislature.

External links

• The Treaty on European Union - Online version (original, not the amended version)
  • Download version
  • For other languages look at the EU page on the European Treaties
  • Currently established version in consolidated form
• The History of the European Union - The Treaty of Maastricht
• Maastricht Treaty European Navigator
• Proposed 1962 treaty establishing a "European Union"