The contract over the European union (also called contract of Maastricht) was signed on 7 February 1992 in the Netherlands Maastricht by the European advice and represents the up to then largest change of the contracts since the establishment of the European community. With this treaty system the European union was created as superordinate group.

Introduction

After negotiations, which took place in December 1991 in Maastricht, the contract was already signed on 7 February 1992. Because of some obstacles in the ratification procedure (agreement of the Danish population only in a second referendum; ) It could step constitutional challenge in Germany against the parliamentary agreement to the contract however only on 1 November 1993 into force. It calls itself as "a new stage with the implementation of a ever closer union of the peoples of Europe ".

It contains the establishment act of the European union (see preamble of the European Union contract) beside a set of changes of the EEC contract and the Euratom contract, without completing this however. It was - like also the development of the EEC - a first indexing step on the way to a final European Union condition, which was to replace the European Union contracts later.

The European union hereby created replaced not the European communities (article 47 EUROPEAN UNION contract), but places these with the new "Politiken and forms of co-operation "(article 2 European Union contract) under a common roof. Together with other elements the European communities form the three columns of the European union:

• the European communities
• co-operation in the outside and security politics (GASP),
• the police one and justizielle co-operation in criminal actions (PJZS).

Contents of the contract

Currency and economic union

In the center of the contract the regulations are located for the creation of the European economic and monetary union in three stages. According to contract text at the earliest a common currency (euro) should be introduced to 1 January 1997, at the latest to 1 January 1999 to the European Union. So that a country can participate in the monetary union, it must fulfill to certain economic criteria (convergence criteria), by which the stability of the common currency is to become secured. The convergence criteria read: relating to financial policy -, price level, interest and rate of exchange criterion. Whereby the relating to financial policy criterion (deficit ratio < 3% and debt condition ratio < 60% GROS DOMESTIC PRODUCT) was laid out as durable criterion, the other criteria applied only in the basis year 1997.

With signing contract automatism on set, after which countries, which fulfill the convergence criteria, about what the Council of Ministers, also the common currency has to decide join. Only Great Britain and Denmark reserved themselves the right, even over the entry to the monetary union to decide (so-called opting out).

Common outside and security politics

Past European political co-operation (EPZ) is replaced with the contract by Maastricht by the common outside and security politics (GASP). Although the GASP represents a column of the European Union, the decisions remain in the long run in the hands of the national states. To most resolutions therefore the unanimity principle applies.

The union citizenry

With the contract of Maastricht the union citizenry was introduced. It replaced not the nationality, but supplements these. The union citizenry receives to everyone, which possesses the nationality one of the countries of the European Union. It receives thereby among other things a residence permit in the entire union, the active and passive local election right to select as well as the right the European parliament independently of the domicile in the entire European Union.

Democratization

A further innovation was the introduction of the joint decision procedure. Thus the European parliament within some ranges was placed on the same stage as the Council of Ministers. In addition the mechanism of the committee of the regions was decided, which should guarantee an appropriate agency of the regions, as for instance in Germany of the Lands of the Federal Republic.

Co-operation in the interior and right politics

In addition in the contract an improvement of co-operation within the range of the law and the inside was decided. As in addition, is the case for the second column, the common outside and security politics, within this range the unanimity principle remained large. For the better co-ordination of police co-operation the European police authority euro pole was created.

Other

With the contract of Maastricht the European institutions received for the first time also to competencies within the range of the culture (at that time kind 128 EEC contract, since the contract of Nice kind 151 EEC contract). The later advancement programs RAPHAEL, ARIANE and KALEIDOSKOP and the master program CULTURE 2000 have here their legal basis.

Further development

The European Union contract became with the contract of Amsterdam (1997) and the contract of Nice (2001) extends, e.g. therein the position of the European parliament became by an improvement of the joint decision procedure and its expansion further strengthened.

See also: Stability and growth pact, contract over a condition for Europe

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Contract text

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