- Title: 25 years after Maastricht, European Union in existential crisis
- Date: 8th December 2016
- Summary: MAASTRICHT, THE NETHERLANDS (DECEMBER 8, 2016) (REUTERS) COMMEMORATIVE PLATE, READING (Dutch): "The European Council met at the (Limburg provincial) government (headquarters) on December 10, 1991 and the Maastricht treaty was signed here on February 7, 1992." EU AND LIMBURG PROVINCIAL FLAGS FLYING OUTSIDE LIMBURG PROVINCIAL GOVERNMENT HEADQUARTERS WHERE MAASTRICHT TREATY WAS SIGNED VARIOUS OF EXHIBITION ABOUT MAASTRICHT TREATY SIGNING INSIDE LIMBURG PROVINCIAL GOVERNMENT HEADQUARTERS VARIOUS OF "FINAL ACT" OF MAASTRICHT TREATY ON DISPLAY LIMBURG PROVINCIAL GOVERNMENT HEADQUARTERS BRUSSELS, BELGIUM (DECEMBER 8, 2016) (REUTERS) POLITICAL ANALYST AT EUROPEAN POLICY CENTRE, JANIS EMMANOUILIDIS, STANDING BY EUROPEAN POLICY CENTRE BANNER EMMANOUILIDIS LISTENING TO REPORTER (SOUNDBITE) (English) POLITICAL ANALYST AT EUROPEAN POLICY CENTRE, JANIS EMMANOUILIDIS, SAYING: "Well, if you look into the history of European integration, Maastricht (Treaty) was a real milestone. It created what we now call the 'European Union,' it created the basic institutional structures, it put forward cooperation in the area of security, defence, foreign policy. It made progress or establish cooperation with respect to justice and home affairs and obviously the big leap was the creation of the Economic and Monetary Union (EMU), which led to the common currency." EMMANOUILIDIS SPEAKING (SOUNDBITE) (English) POLITICAL ANALYST AT EUROPEAN POLICY CENTRE, JANIS EMMANOUILIDIS, SAYING: "There is a sense of complacency, there is a feeling there's no danger that the common currency will implode, 'do we really have to do certain reforms’? And I think there is a need to do them, because other storms will come and you need to prepare the EU for that. And Maastricht did not do that to the full extent it should have done. I think that's one of the lessons we should take with us." EMMANOUILIDIS SPEAKING TO REPORTER (SOUNDBITE) (English) POLITICAL ANALYST AT EUROPEAN POLICY CENTRE, JANIS EMMANOUILIDIS, SAYING: "There was a compromise between member states and the treaty could enter into force but there was criticism at the time but it's not compared to what we see today where we see a higher level of euroscepticism in many EU countries, something which is being used by the so-called populists who are using the criticism vis-a-vis the EU as it stands in order to exploit that for their own purposes. So there was already criticism at the time, also public criticism, but today it's much bigger than it had been at the time." MAASTRICHT, THE NETHERLANDS (DECEMBER 8, 2016) (REUTERS) WOMAN TAKING HER BIKE OFF A BICYCLE STORAGE RACK (SOUNDBITE) (English), DUTCH STUDENT, JANNES, SAYING: "Europe is a good thing, but not with all the bureaucracy we have today, that's why people don't like it anymore, don't care about it and say it costs too much money and it has no use for the people, it's only for bureaucracy, for politics, to get them a job. But I think pay less attention to bureaucracy and those things, and more to what is good, like peace -- it's originally established for peace in Europe and we have it now for 70 years or something -- so that's a good thing." (SOUNDBITE) (Dutch) MAASTRICHT RESIDENT, JAN-PAUL, SAYING: "What is my opinion about Europe? That Europe is still needed today and we have grown apart from each other and that makes me worried." (SOUNDBITE) (Dutch) DUTCH CITIZEN, TEA, SAYING: "The European treaty has brought some good things, but it certainly needs to be worked on and I hope we shall keep the peace and find solution for all the people." MEUSE/MAAS RIVER FLOWING BY LIMBURG PROVINCIAL GOVERNMENT HEADQUARTERS
- Embargoed: 23rd December 2016 17:10
- Keywords: EU Maastricht treaty summit 25 years agreement
- Location: MAASTRICHT, THE NETHERLANDS AND BRUSSELS, BELGIUM
- City: MAASTRICHT, THE NETHERLANDS AND BRUSSELS, BELGIUM
- Country: Netherlands
- Reuters ID: LVA0015C0ZGW7
- Aspect Ratio: 16:9
- Story Text: EDITORS PLEASE NOTE THIS EDIT CONTAINS MATERIAL WHICH WAS ORIGINALLY 4:3
The European Union will celebrate its birthday on Friday (December 9), 25 years after European leaders gathered at the Dutch city Maastricht to agree on the criteria of the Treaty of Maastricht, which created a politically unified EU.
The treaty marked Europe's transition from an economic union, the European Economic Community, to a political union, the European Union, by introducing a common currency and the idea of European citizenship.
A political analyst at the Brussels-based think tank European Policy Centre, Janis Emmanouilidis said the Maastricht Treaty was a peak of European compromise.
"Maastricht was a real milestone. It created what we now call the 'European Union,' it created the basic institutional structures, it put forward cooperation in the areas of security, defence, foreign policy, it made progress or establish cooperation with respect to justice and home affairs and obviously the big leap was the creation of Economic and Monetary Union (EMU), which led to the current (euro) currency," Emmanouilidis said.
With the EMU fostering the creation of a shared currency for all members except Denmark and Britain, states had to fulfil economic criteria to exchange their lire, francs and other currencies for the euro. EU budget rules have proven difficult for some countries to reach following the euro zone crisis in 2009, resulting in bailout packages for countries including Greece and Spain.
Emmanouilidis said the treaty didn't go as far as it should have in monetary policy integration.
"There is a sense of complacency, there is a feeling there's no danger that the common currency will implode, do we really have to do certain reforms? And I think there is a need to do them, because other storms will come and you need to prepare the EU for that. And Maastricht did not do that to the full extent it should have done. I think that's one of the lessons we should take with us," Emmanouilidis said.
The treaty was signed after months of negotiation, striking a balance between countries that wanted a full union and those who wanted a looser relationship. Some national governments struggled to approve the treaty, but Emmanouilidis says the discontent with the treaty doesn't compare to troubles facing Europe today, such as Britain's vote to leave the bloc, the rise of populism and migration influx.
On the streets of Maastricht, residents said Europe benefit them, but that more work should be done to bring the continent closer together.
"Pay less attention to bureaucracy and those things, and more to what is good, like peace -- it's originally established for peace in Europe and we have it now for seventy years or something -- so that's a good thing," Dutch student Jannes said.
"Europe is still needed today and we have grown apart from each other and that makes me worried," Maastricht resident Jan-Paul said.
When European leaders agreed in 1992 to the agreement, the bloc had only 12 members. Since then, the EU has grown to 28 members, 19 of which use the euro.
The signing took place on February 7, 1992 in Maastricht. Having extracted key concessions, including the right to opt out of the currency, British Foreign Minister Douglas Hurd put pen to paper under the watchful eye of the then-European Commission President Jacques Delors.
The following years were filled with protracted discussions over who would be in, who would be out, what the currency would be called and how to tighten deficits and meet the supposedly inviolable rules for membership.
The currency itself was born on January 1, 1999, when the exchange rate of 11 founding members was fixed to the euro, although notes and coins were to remain in circulation for a further three years. - Copyright Holder: REUTERS
- Copyright Notice: (c) Copyright Thomson Reuters 2016. Open For Restrictions - http://about.reuters.com/fulllegal.asp
- Usage Terms/Restrictions: None