The birth of 'political union'

• Signing of the Maastricht Treaty on European Union
• Enlargement of the European Union to take in Austria, Finland and Sweden
• Signing of the Treaty of Amsterdam
• Jacques Santer promises to introduce the euro
• Inauguration of the European Central Bank in Frankfurt
• The Franco-British summit at Saint-Malo gives fresh impetus to European defence
• Faced with revolt from MEPs, the Santer Commission prefers to resign
• Signing of the Treaty of Nice
• The euro in the pockets of European consumers
• Enlargement of the European Union to take in ten new members
• Signing of the Treaty Establishing a Constitution for Europe
• ITER and Galileo: Europe at the forefront of science
• Bulgaria and Romania join the 25
• 50th anniversary of the Treaties of Rome
• Signing of the Treaty of Lisbon

• Home
• The origins of the European idea
• The European idea at the beginning of the 20th century
• The beginnings of European integration
• From the Six to the Nine
• Overcoming the crises
• The relaunch of the European idea

The disappearance of the Soviet bloc brought about a complete shake-up of the world order, with major implications for the European project. The Member States of the Communities responded to the new status quo by reaffirming the political dimension of the European project with the signature, in 1992, of the Maastricht Treaty instituting the European Union and laying the foundations for a single currency. Shortly afterwards, the new European Union, recently enlarged to take in Austria, Sweden and Finland (1995), opted for the biggest enlargement in its history to incorporate the new democracies of Central and Eastern Europe. Since then, Europe has worked to reconcile its geographical enlargement with a deepening of its political project. The stakes are huge, nothing less than the ability of the Union to become a true democratic space and to assert itself as a player in the globalised world.

1992