- 1993: Treaty on European Union (Maastricht)
The Maastricht Treaty created the European Union and structured the EU’s activities in three pillars: The European Communities (hence the ECSC, the EEC and the Euratom) , Common Foreign and Security Policy (all questions related to security, common defence policy) and Cooperation on the Field of Justice and Home Affairs (asylum, immigration, residence rights, drugs, fraud, judicial cooperation, combat terrorism. The Treaty Establishing the European Community (TEC), introduced two important principles: The principle of subsidiarity and secondly the Union citizenship.
Most crucial institutional changes:
- The new legislative procedure, the co-decision procedure, requiring an agreement between the European Parliament and the Council for a decision to be adopted
- The office of Commissioners was extended from four to five years of office and needed a vote of approval by the European Parliament
- The Committee of the Regions was established to advice the EU institutions on matters of importance for the regions
- The Court of Justice received the power to impose fines
- The European Parliament appoints an Ombudsman to deal with complaints of citizens and investigate maladministration in the institutions
The Treaty also introduced some policy changes: The Economic and Monetary Union (EMU) was defined and had a timetable of three stages. The European Central Bank would operate in the framework of the European System of Central Banks (ESCB). Finally, a new fund – the Cohesion Fund- was established to provide the financial means for environmental protection and infrastructure.
