After Maastricht

The signing of the Maastricht Treaty on February 7, 1992 was a high point in European integration, promising movement toward economic and monetary union by 1999 at the latest. Furthermore, there had been movement toward greater political unification in several areas, and, in spite of the difficulties in the process of negotiation, things were looking very robust for greater integration in Europe. Following soon after the signing of the treaty, however, there were two immediate crises. Although related in time and cause, they were conceptually distinct. The first was a crisis in ratification, while the second was a rolling crisis in the European Monetary System leading to a result adequate of the description “breakup.” In spite of what was clearly a strong threat to the EMU objective, the will to move forward held, and monetary union among eleven European Union states began as planned in January of 1999. The comparison with the failed attempt to achieve EMU two decades earlier was striking, but so was this very important difference. Why did the states not falter in this historical instance? Certainly the fact that there was a signed treaty in place contributed, but finally one must consider that the constellation of interests that had brought the states together in the first place had not disappeared.