Maastricht Treaty




This article is about one of two founding treaties of the European Union treaty. For the 1843 treaty between Belgium and the Netherlands, see Treaty of Maastricht (1843).






























Treaty on European Union
Type
Founding treaty
Signed
7 February 1992 (1992-02-07)
Location
Maastricht, Netherlands
Effective
1 November 1993
Amendment
Treaty of Amsterdam (1999)
Treaty of Nice (2003)
Treaty of Lisbon (2009)
Signatories
EU member states

Consolidated version of the Treaty on European Union at Wikisource





















































European Union
Flag of Europe.svg

This article is part of a series on the
politics and government of
the European Union





























Flag of Europe.svg European Union portal


  • Other countries

  • Atlas




  • v

  • t

  • e


The Maastricht Treaty (officially the Treaty on European Union) was signed on 7 February 1992 by the members of the European Community in Maastricht, Netherlands to further European integration.[1] On 9–10 December 1991, the same city hosted the European Council which drafted the treaty.[2] The treaty founded the European Union and established its pillar structure which stayed in place until the Lisbon Treaty came into force in 2009. The treaty also greatly expanded the competences of the EEC/EU and led to the creation of the single European currency, the euro.


The Maastricht Treaty reformed and amended the treaties establishing the European Communities, the EU's first pillar. It renamed European Economic Community the European Community, to reflect its expanded competences beyond economic matters. The Maastricht Treaty also created two new "pillars" of the EU on Common Foreign and Security Policy and Cooperation in the Fields of Justice and Home Affairs (respectively the second and third pillars), which replaced the former informal intergovernmental cooperation bodies named TREVI and European Political Cooperation on EU Foreign policy coordination.


The Maastricht Treaty (TEU) and all pre-existing treaties, has subsequently been further amended by the treaties of Amsterdam (1997), Nice (2001) and Lisbon (2009). Today it is one of two treaties forming the constitutional basis of the European Union (EU), the other being the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union.




Contents






  • 1 History


    • 1.1 Signing


    • 1.2 Ratification


    • 1.3 Entry into force


    • 1.4 Amendments


    • 1.5 Historical assessment


      • 1.5.1 The Maastricht criteria






  • 2 See also


  • 3 Notes


  • 4 Further reading


  • 5 External links





History


While the current version of the TEU entered into force in 2009, following the Treaty of Lisbon (2007), the older form of the same document was implemented by the Treaty of Maastricht (1992).



Signing




Stone memorial in front of the entry to the Limburg Province government building in Maastricht, Netherlands, commemorating the signing of the Maastricht Treaty


The signing of the Treaty of Maastricht took place in Maastricht, Netherlands, on 7 February 1992. The Dutch government, by virtue of holding Presidency of the Council of the European Union during the negotiations in the second half of 1991, arranged a ceremony inside the government buildings of the Limburg province on the river Maas (Meuse). Representatives from the twelve member states of the European Communities were present, and signed the treaty as plenipotentiaries, marking the conclusion of the period of negotiations.



Ratification


Although the pledge to create a single currency has been called ’the greatest voluntary concession of sovereignty ever made to international institutions’ by American political scientist Craig Parsons, only three countries held referenda (France, Denmark and Ireland - all required by their respective constitutions).[3] The process of ratifying the treaty was fraught with difficulties in three states. In Denmark, the first Danish Maastricht Treaty referendum was held on 2 June 1992 and ratification of the treaty was rejected by a margin of 50.7% to 49.3%.[4] Subsequently, alterations were made to the treaty through the addition of the Edinburgh Agreement which lists four Danish exceptions, and this treaty was ratified the following year on 18 May 1993 after a second referendum was held in Denmark,[5] with legal effect after the formally granted royal assent on 9 June 1993.[6]


In September 1992, a referendum in France only narrowly supported the ratification of the treaty, with 50.8% in favour. This narrow vote for ratification in France, known at the time as the ‘petite oui’, led Jacques Delors to comment that, ‘Europe began as an elitist project in which it was believed that all was required was to convince the decision-makers. That phase of benign despotism is over.'[7] Uncertainty over the Danish and French referendums was one of the causes of the turmoil on the currency markets in September 1992, which led to the UK pound's expulsion from the Exchange Rate Mechanism.[citation needed]


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 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.[8] In accordance with British constitutional convention, specifically that of parliamentary sovereignty, ratification in the UK was not subject to approval by referendum. Despite this, the British constitutional historian Vernon Bogdanor wrote at the time that there was “a clear constitutional rationale for requiring a referendum” because although MPs are entrusted with legislative power by the electorate, they are not given authority to transfer that power (the UK’s previous three referenda all concerned the transfer of parliamentary powers). Further, as the ratification of the treaty was in the manifestos of the three major political parties, voters opposed to ratification had no way to express that opposition. For Bogdanor, while the ratification of the treaty by the House of Commons might be legal, it would not be legitimate - which requires popular consent. The way in which the treaty was ratified, he judged, was “likely to have fundamental consequences both for British politics and for Britain's relationship with the European Community”.[9][10]



Entry into force


The TEU entered into force on 1 November 1993.



Amendments


Treaties amending the TEU:




  • Treaty of Amsterdam (1999)


  • Treaty of Nice (2003)


  • Treaty of Lisbon (2009)



Historical assessment


The treaty led to the creation of the euro. One of the obligations of the treaty for the members was to keep "sound fiscal policies, with debt limited to 60% of GDP and annual deficits no greater than 3% of GDP".[11]


The treaty also created what was commonly referred to as the pillar structure of the European Union.


The treaty established the three pillars of the European Union—one supranational pillar created from three European Communities (which included the European Economic Community (EEC), the European Coal and Steel Community and the European Atomic Energy Community), the Common Foreign and Security Policy (CFSP) pillar, and the Justice and Home Affairs (JHA) pillar. The first pillar was where the EU's supra-national institutions—the Commission, the European Parliament and the European Court of Justice—had the most power and influence. The other two pillars were essentially more intergovernmental in nature with decisions being made by committees composed of member states' politicians and officials.[12]


All three pillars were the extensions of existing policy structures. The European Community pillar was the continuation of the European Economic Community with the "Economic" being dropped from the name to represent the wider policy base given by the Maastricht Treaty. Coordination in foreign policy had taken place since the beginning of the 1970s under the name of European Political Cooperation (EPC), which had been first written into the treaties by the Single European Act but not as a part of the EEC. While the Justice and Home Affairs pillar extended cooperation in law enforcement, criminal justice, asylum, and immigration and judicial cooperation in civil matters, some of these areas had already been subject to intergovernmental cooperation under the Schengen Implementation Convention of 1990.


The creation of the pillar system was the result of the desire by many member states to extend the European Economic Community to the areas of foreign policy, military, criminal justice, and judicial cooperation. This desire was set off against the misgivings of other member states, notably the United Kingdom, over adding areas which they considered to be too sensitive to be managed by the supra-national mechanisms of the European Economic Community. The agreed compromise was that instead of renaming the European Economic Community as the European Union, the treaty would establish a legally separate European Union comprising the renamed European Economic Community, and the inter-governmental policy areas of foreign policy, military, criminal justice, judicial cooperation. The structure greatly limited the powers of the European Commission, the European Parliament and the European Court of Justice to influence the new intergovernmental policy areas, which were to be contained with the second and third pillars: foreign policy and military matters (the CFSP pillar) and criminal justice and cooperation in civil matters (the JHA pillar).


In addition, the treaty established the European Committee of the Regions (CoR). CoR is the European Union's (EU) assembly of local and regional representatives that provides sub-national authorities (i.e. regions, municipalities, cities, etc.) with a direct voice within the EU's institutional framework.



The Maastricht criteria


Main article: Euro convergence criteria

The Maastricht criteria (also known as the convergence criteria) are the criteria for European Union member states to enter the third stage of European Economic and Monetary Union (EMU) and adopt the euro as their currency. The four criteria are defined in article 121 of the treaty establishing the European Community. They impose control over inflation, public debt and the public deficit, exchange rate stability and the convergence of interest rates.


1. Inflation rates:
No more than 1.5 percentage points higher than the average of the three best performing (lowest inflation) member states of the EU.


2. Government finance:



Annual government deficit:

The ratio of the annual government deficit to gross domestic product (GDP) must not exceed 3% at the end of the preceding fiscal year. If not, it is at least required to reach a level close to 3%. Only exceptional and temporary excesses would be granted for exceptional cases.



Government debt:

The ratio of gross government debt to GDP must not exceed 60% at the end of the preceding fiscal year. Even if the target cannot be achieved due to the specific conditions, the ratio must have sufficiently diminished and must be approaching the reference value at a satisfactory pace. As of the end of 2014, of the countries in the Eurozone, only Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Slovakia, Luxembourg, and Finland still met this target.[13]


3. Exchange rate:
Applicant countries should have joined the exchange-rate mechanism (ERM II) under the European Monetary System (EMS) for two consecutive years and should not have devalued its currency during the period.


4. Long-term interest rates:
The nominal long-term interest rate must not be more than 2 percentage points higher than in the three lowest inflation member states.


The purpose of setting the criteria is to maintain price stability within the Eurozone even with the inclusion of new member states.[11]



See also








  • Treaties of the European Union
    • Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union



Notes





  1. ^ "1990-1999". The history of the European Union - 1990-1999. Europa. Retrieved 1 September 2011..mw-parser-output cite.citation{font-style:inherit}.mw-parser-output q{quotes:"""""""'""'"}.mw-parser-output code.cs1-code{color:inherit;background:inherit;border:inherit;padding:inherit}.mw-parser-output .cs1-lock-free a{background:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/6/65/Lock-green.svg/9px-Lock-green.svg.png")no-repeat;background-position:right .1em center}.mw-parser-output .cs1-lock-limited a,.mw-parser-output .cs1-lock-registration a{background:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/d/d6/Lock-gray-alt-2.svg/9px-Lock-gray-alt-2.svg.png")no-repeat;background-position:right .1em center}.mw-parser-output .cs1-lock-subscription a{background:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/a/aa/Lock-red-alt-2.svg/9px-Lock-red-alt-2.svg.png")no-repeat;background-position:right .1em center}.mw-parser-output .cs1-subscription,.mw-parser-output .cs1-registration{color:#555}.mw-parser-output .cs1-subscription span,.mw-parser-output .cs1-registration span{border-bottom:1px dotted;cursor:help}.mw-parser-output .cs1-hidden-error{display:none;font-size:100%}.mw-parser-output .cs1-visible-error{font-size:100%}.mw-parser-output .cs1-subscription,.mw-parser-output .cs1-registration,.mw-parser-output .cs1-format{font-size:95%}.mw-parser-output .cs1-kern-left,.mw-parser-output .cs1-kern-wl-left{padding-left:0.2em}.mw-parser-output .cs1-kern-right,.mw-parser-output .cs1-kern-wl-right{padding-right:0.2em}


  2. ^ "1991". The EU at a glance - The History of the European Union. Europa. Archived from the original on 5 April 2009. Retrieved 9 April 2010.


  3. ^ Parsons, Craig (2006). A Certain Idea of Europe. Cornell University Press. p.202.
    ISBN 9780801440861


  4. ^ Havemann, Joel (4 June 1992). "EC Leaders at Sea Over Danish Rejection: Europe: Vote against Maastricht Treaty blocks the march to unity. Expansion plans may also be in jeopardy". LA Times. Retrieved 7 December 2011.


  5. ^ "In Depth: Maastricht Treaty". BBC News. 30 April 2001. Retrieved 4 May 2013.


  6. ^ "Lov om Danmarks tiltrædelse af Edinburgh-Afgørelsen og Maastricht-Traktaten (*1)" (in Danish). Retsinformation. 9 June 1993.


  7. ^ Anell, Lars (2014). Democracy in Europe – An essay on the real democratic problem in the European Union. p.23. FORUM FÖR EU-DEBATT.


  8. ^ Goodwin, Stephen (23 July 1993). "The Maastricht Debate: Major 'driven to confidence factor': Commons Exchanges: Treaty issue 'cannot fester any longer'". The Independent. London. Retrieved 4 May 2013.


  9. ^ Bogdanor also quotes John Locke’s The Second Treatise of Government: ‘The Legislative cannot transfer the power of making laws to any other hands. For it being but a delegated power from the People, they who have it cannot pass it to others.' - Bogdanor, Vernon (8 June, 1993). Why the people should have a vote on Maastricht: The House of Lords must uphold democracy and insist on a referendum. The Independent.


  10. ^ Bogdanor, Vernon (26 July, 1993). Futility of a House with no windows. The Independent.


  11. ^ ab . Hubbard, Glenn and Tim Kane. (2013). Balance: The Economics of Great Powers From Ancient Rome to Modern America . Simon & Schuster. P. 204.
    ISBN 978-1-4767-0025-0


  12. ^ "Treaties and law". European Union. Retrieved 7 December 2011.


  13. ^ "Eurostat - Tables, Graphs and Maps Interface (TGM) table". ec.europa.eu.




Further reading




  • Christiansen, Thomas; Duke, Simon; Kirchner, Emil (November 2012). "Understanding and assessing the Maastricht Treaty". Journal of European Integration, special issue: The Maastricht Treaty: Second Thoughts after 20 Years. Taylor and Francis. 34 (7): 685–698. doi:10.1080/07036337.2012.726009.


  • Smith, Michael (November 2012). "Still rooted in Maastricht: EU external relations as a 'third-generation hybrid'". Journal of European Integration, special issue: The Maastricht Treaty: Second Thoughts after 20 Years. Taylor and Francis. 34 (7): 699–715. doi:10.1080/07036337.2012.726010.


  • Monar, Jörg (November 2012). "Justice and Home Affairs: the treaty of Maastricht as a decisive intergovernmental gate opener". Journal of European Integration, special issue: The Maastricht Treaty: Second Thoughts after 20 Years. Taylor and Francis. 34 (7): 717–734. doi:10.1080/07036337.2012.726011.


  • Monar, Jörg (November 2012). "Twenty years of co-decision since Maastricht: inter- and intrainstitutional implications". Journal of European Integration, special issue: The Maastricht Treaty: Second Thoughts after 20 Years. Taylor and Francis. 34 (7): 735–751. doi:10.1080/07036337.2012.726012.


  • Wessels, Wolfgang (November 2012). "The Maastricht Treaty and the European Council: the history of an institutional evolution". Journal of European Integration, special issue: The Maastricht Treaty: Second Thoughts after 20 Years. Taylor and Francis. 34 (7): 753–767. doi:10.1080/07036337.2012.726013.


  • Caporaso, James A.; Kim, Min-hyung (November 2012). "The Maastricht Treaty at twenty: a Greco-European tragedy?". Journal of European Integration, special issue: The Maastricht Treaty: Second Thoughts after 20 Years. Taylor and Francis. 34 (7): 769–789. doi:10.1080/07036337.2012.726014.


  • Dyson, Kenneth (November 2012). "'Maastricht plus': managing the logic of inherent imperfections". Journal of European Integration, special issue: The Maastricht Treaty: Second Thoughts after 20 Years. Taylor and Francis. 34 (7): 791–808. doi:10.1080/07036337.2012.726015.


  • Kohler-Koch, Beate (November 2012). "Post-Maastricht civil society and participatory democracy". Journal of European Integration, special issue: The Maastricht Treaty: Second Thoughts after 20 Years. Taylor and Francis. 34 (7): 809–824. doi:10.1080/07036337.2012.726016.


  • Weiler, J.H.H. (November 2012). "In the face of crisis: input legitimacy, output legitimacy and the political Messianism of European integration". Journal of European Integration, special issue: The Maastricht Treaty: Second Thoughts after 20 Years. Taylor and Francis. 34 (7): 825–841. doi:10.1080/07036337.2012.726017.


  • Dinan, Desmond (November 2012). "The arc of institutional reform in post-Maastricht Treaty change". Journal of European Integration, special issue: The Maastricht Treaty: Second Thoughts after 20 Years. Taylor and Francis. 34 (7): 843–858. doi:10.1080/07036337.2012.726018.



External links


Works related to Consolidated version of the Treaty on European Union at Wikisource



  • Full text of the treaty at EUR-Lex


  • The Treaty on European Union, signed at Maastricht on 7 February 1992 - Original version

  • The History of the European Union - The Treaty of Maastricht


  • Maastricht Treaty (7 February 1992) CVCE


  • Proposed 1962 treaty establishing a "European Union" CVCE


  • The Treaty on European Union - Current consolidated versions of the Treaty on European Union and the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (in PDF)












-

這個網誌中的熱門文章

12.7 cm/40 Type 89 naval gun

圖片
12.7 cm/40 Type 89 naval gun Type 89 gun mounted on Chitose Type Naval gun anti-aircraft gun Place of origin Japan Service history In service 1932–45 Used by Imperial Japanese Navy Wars World War II Production history Designed 1928–32 Produced 1932–45 No.  built ~1500 Variants Type 88 Specifications Mass 3,100 kilograms (6,834 lb) Barrel length 5,080 millimeters (16 ft 8 in) (bore length) Shell Fixed Shell weight 20.9–23.45 kilograms (46.1–51.7 lb) Caliber 12.7-centimeter (5.0 in) Breech horizontal breech block Elevation -8° to +90° [1] Rate of fire 8-14 rounds per minute Muzzle velocity 720–725 meters per second (2,360–2,380 ft/s) Maximum firing range 9,440 meters (30,970 ft) at 90° (AA ceiling) 14,800 meters (48,600 ft) at 45° The 12.7 cm/40 Type 89 naval gun was a Japanese anti-aircraft (AA) gun introduced before World War II. It was the Imperial Japanese Navy's standard heavy AA...
閱讀完整內容

Rikitea

圖片
Town in French Polynesia, France Rikitea Town Rikitea Location in French Polynesia Coordinates: 23°7′13″S 134°58′9″W  /  23.12028°S 134.96917°W  / -23.12028; -134.96917 Coordinates: 23°7′13″S 134°58′9″W  /  23.12028°S 134.96917°W  / -23.12028; -134.96917 Country   France Overseas collectivity   French Polynesia Territory Gambier Islands Island Mangareva Rikitea is a small town on Mangareva, which is part of the Gambier Islands in French Polynesia. A majority of the islanders live in Rikitea. [1] [2] The island was a protectorate of France in 1871 and was annexed in 1881. [3] Contents 1 History 2 Geography 3 Economy 4 Landmarks 5 Transportation 6 References 7 Bibliography 8 External links History The town's history dates to the era when the island was first settled with people from the Marquesas Islands in 1100 AD. Captain James Wilson of the London Missionary Society arrived in 1797 on Du...
閱讀完整內容

University of Vienna

圖片
"Vienna University" redirects here. For Vienna University of Economics and Business, see Vienna University of Economics and Business. University of Vienna Universität Wien Type Public Established 1365 Budget € 544 million [1] Rector Heinz Engl Academic staff 6,765 Administrative staff 3,106 Students 94,000 [2] Postgraduates 16,490 Doctoral students 8,945 Location Main building, Vienna , Austria 48°12′47″N 16°21′35″E  /  48.21306°N 16.35972°E  / 48.21306; 16.35972 Coordinates: 48°12′47″N 16°21′35″E  /  48.21306°N 16.35972°E  / 48.21306; 16.35972 Campus Urban Colors Blue and White           Affiliations Campus Europae, EUA, UNICA Website www.univie.ac.at/en Data as of 2016 [update] The University of Vienna (German: Universität Wien ) is a public university located in Vienna, Austria. It was founded by Duke Rudolph IV in 1365 and is one of the oldest universities in the Ge...
閱讀完整內容