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The term Maastricht Treaty refers to the international agreement that was responsible for the creation of the European Union (EU). The agreement was signed in 1992 in the Dutch city of Maastricht and became effective in 1993. It led to greater cooperation between the 12 member nations that signed the treaty by promoting unified citizenship, along with economic, social, and progress. The treaty also laid down the foundation for a single currency, the euro. It was amended several times since it was signed. As of October 2021, 27 member states were part of the European Union.
The Maastricht Treaty was signed in the Dutch city of Maastricht on Feb. 7, 1992, by representatives of 12 member nations that made up the European Community (EC). Discussions for the agreement began in December 1991. The concept of the EU was a topic of debate and required the approval of voters in each country, which included:
Formally as the Treaty on European Union, the treaty went into effect on Nov. 1, 1993.
The goal of the treaty was to increase cooperation by establishing common European citizenship to allow residents to move, live, and work freely between member states. It also created a shared economic, foreign policy, and security policy system. Member nations also agreed to cooperate on security and legal affairs.
The treaty established a timeline for the creation and implementation of the European Economic and Monetary Union (EMU). The EMU was to include a common economic and monetary union, a central banking system, and a common currency. The European Central Bank (ECB) was in 1998 once the end of the year conversion rates between member states' currencies was fixed, a prelude to the creation of the euro, which began circulation in 2002.
It also introduced the criteria that countries must meet if they want to join the euro. This was a measure to ensure that countries joining the euro were stable in inflation, levels of public debt, interest rates, and exchange rates.
Nineteen of the countries use the euro as their official currency.
The treaty was amended a number of times since it was first ratified:
The United Kingdom voted to leave the European Union following a referendum referred to as Brexit. Its withdrawal formally took place on Jan. 31, 2020.
The treaty granted EU citizenship to every citizen of a member state, allowing people to run for local office and for European Parliament elections in the EU country where they lived, regardless of nationality.
By creating a common economic and monetary union, the agreement established the current central banking system. The ECB's main objective is to maintain price stability, which ultimately means to safeguard the value of the euro. This started with the free movement of capital between the member states, which led to increased cooperation between national central banks and the increased alignment of economic policy among member states. The final step was the introduction of the euro.
A major goal was greater policy cooperation and coordination more generally. The environment, policing, and social policy were just some of a number of areas in which the countries aimed to increase cooperation and coordination.