Title: Five things you need to know about the Maastricht Treaty
Headings: Five things you need to know about the Maastricht Treaty
Five things you need to know about the Maastricht Treaty
The Treaty laid the foundations for the European Union as we know it today
1.
Greater cooperation
European citizenship
Common foreign and security policy
Justice and Home Affairs
2.
Representatives from 12 countries signed the Treaty on 7 February 1992
Belgium, Denmark, France, Germany, Greece, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Portugal, Spain and the United Kingdom
3.
A single currency for Europeans
Stage 1 (01/07/90 - 31/12/93)
Stage 2 (01/01/94 - 31/12/98)
Stage 3 (01/01/99 - today)
4.
The Treaty also established rules on how the euro would work in practice. This included specifying what a country needs to do to join the euro area.
Inflation
Levels of public debt
Interest rates
Exchange rate
5.
Europe has moved closer together
The Stability and Growth Pact
The European Stability Mechanism
The banking union
Today, more than 440 million citizens from 27 Member States enjoy the benefits of European cooperation
WANT TO KNOW MORE?
READ IN MORE DETAIL HERE

Content: European citizenship
The Treaty introduced European citizenship, allowing citizens to reside in and move freely between Member States. Common foreign and security policy
The Treaty established a common foreign and security policy with the aim of "safeguarding the common values, fundamental interests and independence of the Union". Justice and Home Affairs
The Treaty developed close cooperation on justice and home affairs to ensure the safety and security of European citizens. 2. It was signed by 12 countries
Representatives from 12 countries signed the Treaty on 7 February 1992
Belgium, Denmark, France, Germany, Greece, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Portugal, Spain and the United Kingdom
The parliaments in each country then ratified the Treaty, in some cases holding referendums. The Maastricht Treaty officially came into force on 1 November 1993 and the European Union was officially established. Since then, a further 16 countries have joined the EU* and adopted the rules set out in the Maastricht Treaty or in the treaties that followed later. * There are now 27 EU Member States following the departure of the United Kingdom from the EU. 3. It laid the foundations for the euro
A single currency for Europeans
The Maastricht Treaty paved the way for the creation of a single European currency: