Title: BBC News - A timeline of the EU
Headings: A timeline of the EU
A timeline of the EU
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Content: 1988
Regional aid is doubled
Market liberalisation is seen to work to the benefit of the more developed northern European member states so the poorer southern states demand compensation. This comes in the form of agreement to double the allocations for structural funds paid to poorer regions. 1990
Britain enters the ERM


1991
Maastricht turns the Community into a Union
The Maastricht treaty on European Union is signed in December. It paves the way for monetary union and includes a chapter on social policy. The UK negotiates an optout on both. The treaty also introduces European citizenship giving Europeans the right to live and vote in elections in any EU country and launches European cooperation in foreign affairs security asylum and immigration. 1992
The UK is forced out of the ERM
Volatile currency markets put the Exchange Rate Mechanism ERM under pressure. The ERM was intended to harmonise currency values ahead of creating a single currency. In an effort to bolster the £ which had been devalued by the unstable market the UK government raises base rates in an effort to prompt currency traders to buy £s. Traders keep selling however forcing the government to pull the £ out of the ERM. 1993
The Treaty on European Union comes into effect
The Maastricht Treaty had a rough ride in national referendums.