Maastricht (Treaty of)
Introduction
The term “Maastricht (Treaty of)” refers to a fundamental international treaty of European integration, which is officially called the Treaty on European Union (TEU). It was signed on February 7, 1992, in Maastricht (Netherlands) and entered into force on November 1, 1993. This treaty fundamentally restructured the institutional, political, and legal order of the European Communities, leading to the founding of the European Union.
Historical development
Background
The Treaty of Maastricht built upon the previous integration progress of the European Communities (EC), particularly the European Economic Community (EEC), and responded to political, economic, and social changes following the end of the Cold War. Its aim was to deepen European integration in order to strengthen political, economic, and social cohesion in Europe and to establish new forms of integration.
Treaty negotiations and signing
Negotiations on the Maastricht Treaty lasted from 1991 to 1992 and took place against the backdrop of growing importance of European cooperation. The twelve then-members of the EC signed the treaty document on February 7, 1992.
Legal nature and structure
International law treaty
The Maastricht Treaty is an international law treaty within the meaning of the Vienna Convention on the Law of Treaties. It substantially altered the legal framework of the previous EEC and the other European Communities by introducing the new system of the European Union. For the first time, the treaty created a unified legal foundation for political, economic, and social cooperation in Europe.
Institutional structure and pillar model
The treaty established the so-called “three-pillar model”:
- First pillar: European Communities (EC, Euratom, ECSC – the latter ceased to exist in 2002),
- Second pillar: Common Foreign and Security Policy (CFSP),
- Third pillar: Cooperation in the areas of Justice and Home Affairs (JHA, later the so-called police and judicial cooperation in criminal matters).
While the first pillar was largely supranational in structure, the second and third pillars remained predominantly within the intergovernmental framework of international law.
Legal innovations by the Maastricht Treaty
Establishment of the European Union
By creating the European Union as an umbrella structure, the treaty brought together existing Community treaties under a common institutional framework and created new policy areas of Union-wide significance.
Expansion of the powers of European institutions
The treaty strengthened the role of the European Parliament by introducing the co-decision procedure (further developed today as the ordinary legislative procedure) and institutionalized new oversight rights. The Council of Ministers and the European Commission received extended decision-making powers, particularly regarding Economic and Monetary Union and the internal market.
Economic and Monetary Union (EMU)
A central element of the Maastricht Treaty was the establishment of the Economic and Monetary Union, i.e., legal preparations for the introduction of a common currency (the euro). This included:
- Establishing convergence criteria and legally binding them for accession candidates,
- Creation of the European Central Bank (ECB) and the European System of Central Banks (ESCB),
- Rules on fiscal policy and the maintenance of price stability,
- Sanctioning mechanisms in the event of non-compliance with the stability and convergence criteria.
Union citizenship
The introduction of Union citizenship was another significant legal innovation. It enshrined EU citizens’ rights such as freedom of movement and the active and passive right to vote in municipal and European elections.
Expansion of political cooperation
The treaty legally established the Common Foreign and Security Policy (CFSP), which coordinated member states’ common positions and actions in foreign policy. Police and judicial cooperation in criminal matters supplemented the treaty’s focus on ‘internal security’ at the European level with new coordination mechanisms.
Expansion of the Community’s policy fields
The previous Community tasks were supplemented by, among others, the areas of environment, education, culture, and health. The extension of competences led to new legislative foundations and increased the harmonization of national regulations in these fields.
Constitutional significance
Creation of a supranational legal framework
The Maastricht Treaty represented a significant step towards creating a supranational legal area in Europe. With the European Union, a new entity was created that, alongside the Member States, acts as a subject of international law.
Transfer of sovereign rights
As a result of the treaty, the Member States transferred large areas of their sovereign rights to the Community institutions. The jurisprudence of the European Court of Justice established the direct applicability of Union law (so-called “direct effect”) and its primacy over national law.
Implementation in German and European legal orders
In Germany, the law on the Treaty of February 7, 1992 on the European Union (Maastricht Treaty Act) was enacted for its implementation. The Federal Constitutional Court reviewed the compatibility of the treaty with the Basic Law in the ‘Maastricht Judgment’ (BVerfGE 89, 155) and clarified that the treaty is compatible with the German Basic Law, provided the integration program respects constitutional principles.
Impacts and subsequent developments
Treaty adjustments and subsequent amendments
Subsequent treaties, such as the Treaty of Amsterdam, Nice, and Lisbon, reformed and extended the structures introduced by the Maastricht Treaty. Nevertheless, the Maastricht Treaty remains the root of today’s European Union and the eurozone.
Case law
The case law of the Court of Justice of the European Union, as well as national courts, continues to regularly refer to the core regulatory contents and principles of the Maastricht Treaty, especially in the context of Union citizenship, Economic and Monetary Union, and the distribution of competences between the Union and the Member States.
Summary
The Maastricht Treaty is a milestone in European integration and of central importance to European constitutional and international law. Its provisions laid the foundation for today’s European Union and its legal order, significantly expanded the rights of Union citizens, and provided the legal basis for the introduction of the euro. The treaty’s provisions and mechanisms continue to have a lasting effect on the institutional, legal, and political order of Europe to this day.
Frequently asked questions
What legal innovations did the Maastricht Treaty introduce?
The Maastricht Treaty of 1992, officially called the Treaty on European Union (TEU), anchored fundamental legal innovations in the process of European integration. The most significant legal change was the introduction of a three-pillar structure, which for the first time conceived the European Union (EU) as a political and legal entity. The first pillar encompassed the existing European Communities (EEC, ECSC, EURATOM) and was characterized by supranational decision-making mechanisms. The second pillar, the Common Foreign and Security Policy (CFSP), and the third pillar, cooperation in the areas of Justice and Home Affairs, were designed as intergovernmental policy areas in which the Member States cooperated on the basis of international treaties and the principle of unanimity. In addition, the treaty established Union citizenship, expanded the powers of the European Parliament through the co-decision procedure, and set the legal foundations for the introduction of the Economic and Monetary Union with a common currency, the euro. The competences of EU bodies were more clearly defined in the treaty and subjected to the principle of conferral.
To what extent did the Maastricht Treaty change the relationship between EU law and national law?
The Maastricht Treaty solidified and clarified the existing relationship between EU law and national law, particularly by more clearly delineating competences and introducing new policy areas. The application of EU law – that is, the provisions from the treaty and the secondary legal acts based on it – continued to be governed by the principles of primacy, direct effect, and immediate applicability as developed by the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU). What was new was that the extension into previously national policy fields (such as Justice and Home Affairs) created new issues concerning the legal order between the Union and the Member States. In the intergovernmental pillars, however, the direct effect of Union law on national legal systems was limited, so that – unlike in the supranational first pillar – international coordination and national implementation prevailed.
What significance did the Maastricht Treaty have for the democratic legitimacy of the European Union?
The Maastricht Treaty was a major step toward a more democratic structure of the EU. Legally significant was above all the introduction of the co-decision procedure (now the ordinary legislative procedure), which granted the European Parliament a genuine right of veto in several legislative areas and thus significantly strengthened the control of the democratically elected body over the Community’s lawmaking. In addition, the introduction of Union citizenship was an important legal act to strengthen citizen-oriented legitimacy. Member States were now obliged to grant Union citizens certain rights, such as the active and passive right to vote in municipal elections and in elections to the European Parliament in the country of their residence. Nevertheless, democratic control remained limited, especially in the intergovernmental pillars, since decision-making there was largely reserved for the executives of the Member States.
How did the Maastricht Treaty affect the institutional balance within the European Union?
From a legal perspective, the Maastricht Treaty led to a redistribution of competences and strengthening of institutional balance. In particular, through the expansion of the co-decision rights of the European Parliament and the clear broadening of the powers of the Commission and the Council, the interplay of executive, legislative, and judiciary within the EU became more differentiated. For the first time, the European Parliament gained equal footing with the Council in many policy areas and could actively shape legislation. The European Council was institutionally established as a distinct body in the treaty, giving its role as a central strategic decision-making body a solid legal foundation.
What legal bases did the Maastricht Treaty create for the Economic and Monetary Union?
The Maastricht Treaty laid the legal foundation for the creation of a single Economic and Monetary Union. In the relevant treaty articles, the timetable and convergence criteria for participation in the monetary union were established. In particular, the tasks and independence of the European Central Bank (ECB) and the European System of Central Banks (ESCB) were regulated in legal detail. Core element of these regulations was price stability as the main objective of monetary policy. Furthermore, the treaty obliged Member States to fiscal discipline by introducing reference values for budget deficits and public debt (known as the Maastricht criteria). Establishing these criteria at the primary law level created a binding framework for the later introduction of the euro.
What new possibilities for treaty amendment and withdrawal of a Member State were created by the Maastricht Treaty?
From a legal perspective, the Maastricht Treaty introduced some innovations regarding treaty amendments. Although an explicit provision for the withdrawal of a Member State was still not provided for—this was only introduced by the Treaty of Lisbon—the Maastricht Treaty did, for the first time, establish a formal procedure for treaty amendments: Amendments had to be drafted by an intergovernmental conference, unanimously adopted by the Member States, and then ratified by each Member State according to their respective constitutional requirements. In this way, a specifically regulated amendment procedure was established, promoting legal clarity and transparency.
What legal disputes and judicial reviews resulted from the Maastricht Treaty?
Following the entry into force of the Maastricht Treaty, its legal innovations were frequently reviewed before national constitutional courts and the European Court of Justice. Particularly significant was the so-called ‘Maastricht Judgment’ of the German Federal Constitutional Court in 1993, which examined the compatibility of the treaty with the German Basic Law. The court found that essential sovereign rights were transferred to the EU by the treaty, but this was permissible under German law as long as democratic legitimacy, protection of fundamental rights, and the principle of conferral were safeguarded. On the European level, the CJEU had to decide on questions of the distribution of competences and the interpretation of fundamental rights. Thus, the legal controversies were closely linked to the new areas of competence and the institutional structure of the EU established by Maastricht.
