Misplaced Pages

#545454

99-599: Relations trace back to the foundation of the European Communities , the European Union's predecessor, in 1957. The UK was a member state of the bloc after joining it in 1973 (which was confirmed in a referendum on membership in 1975 ) until it became the first country to voluntarily end its membership on 31 January 2020 after a second referendum on membership was held in 2016 which resulted in 51.9% of voters opting to leave. The Brexit withdrawal agreement now plays

198-557: A referendum in France narrowly supported the ratification of the treaty, with 50.8% in favour. This narrow vote for ratification in France, known at the time as the ' petit oui ', led Jacques Delors to comment that "Europe began as an elitist project in which it was believed that all that was required was to convince the decision-makers. That phase of benign despotism is over." In the United Kingdom parliament ratification did not command

297-732: A 50-year limit and thus expired in 2002; all its activities are now absorbed into the European Community. The EAEC had no such limit and thus continues to exist. Given that nuclear power is a very sensitive issue for the European electorate, the Euratom Treaty has gone without amendment since its signing, and was not even to be changed with the European Constitution intended to repeal all other treaties (the Constitution's replacement,

396-520: A clear majority. In protest against the social-policy opt out, Labour opposed, while "anti-federalists" split the governing Conservatives . Prime Minister John Major was able to face down his " Maastricht Rebels " only by tying ratification to the survival of the government in a vote of confidence. (Researchers and observers suggest that, in the United Kingdom, the Maastricht Treaty represented "a critical turning point" in terms of divisions within

495-591: A faster rate. On the European side, according to Eurostat , exports from the EU 27 to the UK have increased from 316 euro billions in 2015 to 319 euro billions in 2019. In the same time, according to Eurostat, imports from the UK to the EU-27 have increased from 184 euro billions in 2015 to 194 euro billions in 2019. European Communities The European Communities ( EC ) were three international organizations that were governed by

594-582: A huge boost to Euro-scepticism; and made currency traders like George Soros rich. The ERM was the centrepiece of the European Monetary System (EMS), set up on voluntary basis in 1978 to reduce the "barrier" that exchange-rate volatility presented for intra-Community commerce (and for the management of payments under the Common Agricultural Policy ). Britain had signed up to the ERM in 1990 as

693-522: A long-standing policy of enthusiasm for EU enlargement , under the premise that the addition of more members would undermine any federalising drive (deepening) of the union. Vis-à-vis Gibraltar , a British Overseas Territory whose defence and foreign policies are handled by His Majesty's Government, the Spain's accession to the European Communities in 1986 , negotiated with the UK inside the bloc from

792-444: A memorandum of understanding to enhance cooperation on financial services. Chancellor Jeremy Hunt described the signing as a significant moment, highlighting the interconnections of the EU and UK financial markets. The agreement establishes a forum for regular discussions on voluntary regulatory cooperation. However, it does not indicate regulatory alignment or address specific demands from

891-530: A number of anomalous issues. Provided that all Member States ratify, it rules that the Treaty should come into force on 1 January 1993. Articles within the Treaty were referred to by using the letters A to S. Annexed to the Treaty is a Protocol, and an Agreement, on Social Policy. With a view to ensuring that the dynamic of the European single market respect certain minimum social and employment protections, these allow

990-531: A number of changes to the European institutions and their decision taking procedures, not least a strengthening of the powers of the European Parliament and more majority voting on the Council of Ministers . Although these were seen by many to presage a " federal Europe ", key areas remained inter-governmental with national governments collectively taking key decisions. This constitutional debate continued through

1089-584: A poll in France, Germany, Spain, and Italy on how respondents would feel about the UK re-joining the EU. Support out-weighed opposition across all four countries, with it being lowest in France (36%) and highest in Spain (46%). In 2017, exports to the European Union amounted to £274 billion out of £616 billion in total exports for the UK. The proportion of UK export to the European Union has been noted to be in decline, since exports to non-EU countries have increased at

SECTION 10

#1732852294546

1188-465: A position of strength, made the former country to renounce its power, recognised by the Treaty of Utrecht , to close its land border with Gibraltar at its discretion. The then Conservative UK government acquiesced to the 1992 Maastricht Treaty (by which the European Union came into existence) as it aligned with its vision of the bloc as essentially a free market. The 1998 Good Friday Agreement pertaining

1287-399: A presumption that action will be taken at European level only where national efforts cannot achieve the objective in question. Sceptics note that the Treaty offers no legally actionable definition of subsidiarity. Rather there are "a series of tentative indications for Community action in a document full of imprecise concepts: 'sufficiently', 'better achieved', 'what is necessary', 'to achieve

1386-650: A significant role in relations between the two polities. The United Kingdom shares a land border with the Republic of Ireland , an EU member state, via Northern Ireland , which has remained a de facto member of the European Single Market and maintained the authority of the European Court of Justice under the Northern Ireland Protocol . Relations between the UK and the EU have seen improvement since

1485-737: A single currency"; and "a common foreign and security policy including the eventual framing of a common defence". Title II, Provisions Amending the Treaty Establishing the European Economic Community, reformulates the EEC as the central "pillar" of the Union. It amends the EEC's Treaty of Rome constitution, renaming it the European Community to reflect the Union's broader ambition. Amendments incorporate (as detailed in attached protocols)

1584-511: A staged progression toward monetary union including the price-stability-first criteria for adoption of the single currency and for the operations of the prospective European Central Bank (ECB). Other amendments create the office of European Ombudsman , expand the Structural Fund assistance to the poorer EU regions; and broaden Community competencies in education, culture, public health, consumer protection, trans-European networks, industry and

1683-545: A token of the government's commitment to control inflation (then running at three times the rate of Germany). From the beginning of 1990, high German interest rates, set by the Bundesbank to counteract inflationary impact of the expenditure on German reunification , caused significant stress across the whole of the ERM. By the time of their own ratifications debates, France and Denmark also found themselves under pressure in foreign exchange markets, their currencies trading close to

1782-804: The European Communities (EC), which were founded in the 1950s in the spirit of the Schuman Declaration . By virtue of the Merger Treaty , all three Communities were governed by the same institutional framework. Prior to 1967, the Common Assembly/European Parliamentary Assembly and the Court of Justice , established by the ECSC, were already shared with the EEC and EAEC, but they had different executives. The 1967 treaty gave

1881-454: The Deutsche Mark and adopt a common currency. Without consulting Karl Otto Pöhl , President of the Bundesbank , Kohl accepted the deal. Despite this win for France, it was widely perceived that the cost of German cooperation was German dictation of the rules for a single currency. The Bundesbank had signalled that Germany's economic success would come before being "a good european". In

1980-417: The EU . Of the 1,218,000 immigrants who came to the United Kingdom in 2023, only 126,000 were citizens of EU member states. BBC reported that "In the 12 months to June 2023, net EU migration was -86,000, meaning more EU nationals left the UK than arrived". EU citizens working in the health and social care sector have been replaced by migrants from non-EU countries such as India and Nigeria . After Brexit,

2079-561: The European Parliament "co-legislator with the Council of Ministers" and have since been developed and extended to nearly all areas where the Council decides on legislation by qualified majority voting. The "foundations of co-decision in the Maastricht Treaty" have led to ways to reconcile differences between the Parliament and the Council, formally through a "conciliation procedure" and informally through "trialogues" involving negotiations between

SECTION 20

#1732852294546

2178-483: The Maastricht Treaty , is the foundation treaty of the European Union (EU). Concluded in 1992 between the then-twelve member states of the European Communities , it announced "a new stage in the process of European integration " chiefly in provisions for a shared European citizenship , for the eventual introduction of a single currency , and (with less precision) for common foreign and security policies , and

2277-622: The Netherlands , and West Germany came together to sign the Treaty of Paris in 1951 which established the Community. The success of this Community led to the desire to create more, but attempts at creating a European Defence Community and a European Political Community failed leading to a return to economic matters. In 1957, the EAEC and EEC were created by the Treaties of Rome . They were to share some of

2376-559: The Pound sterling ). The signatory nations were represented by: In consequence of the Dutch Presidency of the Council of the European Communities during the previous six months of negotiation, the Treaty was signed in the Netherlands , in the city of Maastricht . The twelve members of the European Communities signing the Treaty on 7 February 1992 were Belgium, Denmark, France, Germany, Greece, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, Portugal, Spain,

2475-409: The Treaty of Lisbon , likewise makes no attempt at amendment). As the EAEC has a low profile, and the profile of the European Community is dwarfed by that of the EU, the term "European Communities" sees little usage. However, when the EU was established the institutions that dealt solely or mainly with the European Community (as opposed to all three pillars) retained their original names, for example

2574-461: The franc . Since then, Mitterrand had been committed to drawing Germany into a currency partnership. After the fall of the Berlin Wall in late 1989, Germany sought re-unification. France, the UK, and the rest of Europe expressed their concerns over re-unification. When German Chancellor Helmut Kohl asked for re-unification in 1990, Mitterrand would only accept in the event Germany would abandon

2673-532: The " Inner Six " (the "outer seven" were those countries who formed the European Free Trade Association ). The six founding countries were France , West Germany , Italy and the three Benelux countries: Belgium , the Netherlands and Luxembourg . The first enlargement was in 1973, with the accession of Denmark , Ireland and the United Kingdom . Greece , Spain and Portugal joined in

2772-580: The 1980s. Following the creation of the EU in November 1993, it has enlarged to include a further sixteen countries by July 2013. Member states are represented in some form in each institution. The Council is also composed of one national minister who represents their national government. Each state also has a right to one European Commissioner each, although in the European Commission they are not supposed to represent their national interest but that of

2871-500: The Communities remained the actual subjects of international law impersonating the rather abstract Union, becoming at the same time its first pillar . In popular language, however, the singular European Community was sometimes used interchangeably with the plural phrase, in the sense of referring to all three entities. The European Coal and Steel Community ceased to exist in 2002 when its founding treaty expired. The European Community

2970-528: The Community. Prior to 2004, the larger members (France, Germany, Italy and the United Kingdom) had two Commissioners. In the European Parliament , members are allocated a set number seats related to their population, however these ( since 1979 ) have been directly elected and they sit according to political allegiance, not national origin. Most other institutions, including the European Court of Justice , have some form of national division of its members. At

3069-617: The Conservative Party over European integration and the ruling party' ultimate fragmentation in 2016 into Leave and Remain factions). In Germany, the Maastricht Treaty passed the Bundestag on December 2, 1992, with a majority of 543 out of 562, and the Bundesrat with unanimity. The Bundestag was required to amend the Grundgesetz (German Basic Law) to “legalize Germany’s membership in

United Kingdom–European Union relations - Misplaced Pages Continue

3168-580: The Council and Commission of the EEC responsibility over ECSC and EAEC affairs, abolishing the Councils of the ECSC and EAEC, the Commission of the EAEC and the High Authority of the ECSC . These governed the three Communities until the establishment of the European Union in 1993. The three Communities shared the same membership, the six states that signed the Treaty of Paris and subsequent treaties were known as

3267-531: The Council of Ministers to approve relevant proposals from the European Commission on the basis of a qualified majority rather than unanimous consent. The United Kingdom was not a party of the Agreement on Social Policy and secured an "opt out" from the protocol. It was to do the same with respect to the obligation to enter the final, single-currency, stage of monetary union (the UK would not have to give up

3366-448: The ECB, nor a national central bank, nor any member of their decision-making bodies, shall seek or take instructions from Community institutions or bodies from any Government of a Member State or from any other body." Seeming to further preclude any possibility of the single-currency banking system being used to regulate European financial markets in support of potentially inflationary policies,

3465-696: The EU by the common set of institutions, has been retained as an entity distinct from the EU, along with a number of other international entities, such as the European Investment Bank , the European University Institute , the European Stability Mechanism , and the Unified Patent Court . The ECSC was created first. Following its proposal in 1950 in the Schuman Declaration , Belgium , France , Italy , Luxembourg ,

3564-523: The EU, resigned. Theresa May became the prime minister after his formal resignation. Although she also supported remaining in the EU, she committed to negotiating Britain's exit. The United Kingdom formally left the bloc on 31 January 2020. On 30 December 2020, after eight months of negotiations, the EU and the UK signed the EU–UK Trade and Cooperation Agreement , which governs bilateral relations since its provisional entry into force two days later and which

3663-457: The EU. Respondents are regularly polled on their voting intention in a hypothetical referendum on re-joining the EU. This is instead of re-using the leave/ remain question from the 2016 referendum. Recent polling results have demonstrated a clear lead for "re-join" over "stay[ing] out". A longer example of the following table can be found here. size In 2021, Euronews commissioned British pollsters Redfield & Wilton Strategies to conduct

3762-472: The EU. However, UK-EU collaborative discussions on the response to the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine , which saw the UK invited to an EU Foreign Affairs Council meeting for the first time since Brexit, and the successful negotiation of the Windsor Framework for Northern Ireland between the UK and EU, has indicated a gradual improvement of relations over time. On June 28, 2023, the EU and UK signed

3861-540: The EU. What were formerly the competencies of the EEC fell within the European Communities pillar. Justice and Home Affairs was introduced as a new pillar while European Political Cooperation became the second pillar (the Common Foreign and Security Policy ). The Communities institutions became the institutions of the EU but the roles of the institutions between the pillars are different. The commission, Parliament and Court of Justice are largely cut out of activities in

3960-414: The European Communities. The working conditions of staff are governed by the Communities' staff regulations and not directly by the labour laws of the countries of employment. Their salaries, wages and emoluments are subject to a tax for the benefit of the European Communities and are, in turn, exempt from national taxes. Maastricht Treaty The Treaty on European Union , commonly known as

4059-462: The European Parliament, Council and Commission, which have become standard in most legislative procedures. In establishing the European Union the Maastricht Treaty amended the treaties that had established the European Communities in the 1950s. Following the EU accessions of Austria, Finland, and Sweden, it was in turn amended by the treaties of Amsterdam (1997), and Nice (2001). Following

United Kingdom–European Union relations - Misplaced Pages Continue

4158-533: The European Union (Article 23) as well as to install a European Monetary Union (Article 88).” The ratification was delayed by challenges at the German Federal Constitutional Court , the complainants claiming the amendments transferring sovereign competencies to the European Union violated democratic principles (Article 20 and 38(1)) of the Grundgesetz that were unamendable (Article 79(3)); hence

4257-682: The European Union (EU) on the foundation of the three, already partially merged, European Communities: the European Economic Community (EEC), the European Coal and Steel Community (ECSC) and the European Atomic Energy Community (Euratom). It confirms among its objectives are "the introduction of a citizenship of the Union" common to the nationals of the Member States; "economic and monetary union, ultimately including

4356-500: The Eurozone – higher debts which, ultimately, have no relationship to higher growth. The Maastricht criteria, he insisted, were correct in placing the onus for growth on "competitiveness, structural reforms, investment, and sustainable financing". Set alongside the European Community, the cooperation proposed in the Maastricht Treaty on foreign and security policy, and on justice and home affairs, were characterised in official commentary as

4455-571: The German Bundesbank ". Whereas the Bundesbank, under article 12 of its constitution, is "bound to support the general economic policy of the [German] Federal Government", the obligation of the ECB to "support the general economic policies in the Community" is to be "without prejudice" to price stability, the Bank's "primary objective". It is further conditioned by the express understanding that "neither

4554-534: The Justice and Home Affairs (JHA) pillar to the European Community (JHA was renamed Police and Judicial Co-operation in Criminal Matters (PJCC) as a result). Both Amsterdam and the Treaty of Nice also extended codecision procedure to nearly all policy areas, giving Parliament equal power to the Council in the Community. In 2002, the Treaty of Paris which established the European Coal and Steel Community (one of

4653-401: The Maastricht Treaty opened up "debates about whether this strengthened the states, regions or local government vis-à-vis the EU or vice versa". Subsidiarity can be read as a federalising principle. For every endeavour it poses the question of whether national or Community policy is the most effective means, and elevates simple utility above any deference to national or local feeling, albeit with

4752-457: The Maastricht Treaty should be inadmissible. The court delivered its judgment on October 12, 1993 ruling the Maastricht Treaty compatible with the Grundgesetz, but provided that the European Union could not endow itself with more powers without the Bundestag’s approval. The court also confirmed its Solange II decision accepting the supremacy of European Court of Justice decisions while retaining

4851-613: The Netherlands and the United Kingdom. The Treaty noted that it should be "ratified by the High Contracting Parties in accordance with their respective constitutional requirement". In the cases of Denmark, France and Ireland this required referendums. In the first Danish referendum , on 2 June 1992, the treaty was rejected by a margin of 50.7% to 49.3%. Concessions secured by the end of year in Edinburgh including, critically,

4950-521: The TEC as the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (TFEU). Since the end of World War II , sovereign European countries have entered into treaties and thereby co-operated and harmonised policies (or pooled sovereignty ) in an increasing number of areas, in the European integration project or the construction of Europe ( French : la construction européenne ). The following timeline outlines

5049-409: The Treaty expressly prohibits the ECB or any Member State central extending "overdraft facilities or any other type of credit facility" to "Community institutions or bodies, central governments, regional, local or other public authorities, other bodies governed by public law, or public undertakings of Member States", or the purchase from them debt instruments. Critics felt that, in limiting the role of

SECTION 50

#1732852294546

5148-559: The Treaty of Maastricht, Parliament gained a much bigger role. Maastricht brought in the codecision procedure , which gave it equal legislative power with the Council on Community matters. Hence, with the greater powers of the supranational institutions and the operation of Qualified Majority Voting in the council, the Communities pillar could be described as a far more federal method of decision making. The Amsterdam Treaty transferred rule making powers for border controls, immigration, asylum and cooperation in civil and commercial law from

5247-563: The UK accession to the EC in 1973, the former got to renegotiate membership terms, vied for budgetary rebates and requested opt-outs from the single currency and other common policies. The protectionist Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) in particular was often at the center of the UK conflicts with the rest of the EC, underpinning its reputation as an "awkward partner" within the bloc. Since 1977, both pro- and anti-European views have had majority support at different times, with some dramatic swings between

5346-577: The UK, the Maastricht rebellion drew on the experience of Black Wednesday . On 16 September 1992 the British government had been forced to withdraw the pound sterling from the European Exchange Rate Mechanism (ERM), after a failed and costly attempt to keep the pound above its mandated exchange rate limit. Sterling 's exit from the ERM was the defining failure of John Major's government;

5445-407: The Withdrawal Agreement and international law, despite pressure from hard-line Brexiteers regarding the European Convention on Human Rights. They planned to define areas for strengthened cooperation in the coming months and committed to regular meetings, starting with a summit early next year. Following the UK's withdrawal from the EU, polling companies have continued to poll respondents on re-joining

5544-442: The accession of a further twelve states, ten from the former Eastern Bloc – Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Romania, Slovakia and Slovenia – plus Cyprus and Malta, and an aborted Treaty on a European Constitution , the Treaty on European Union and the Treaty Establishing the European Community (TEC) were more comprehensively revisited. The 2007 Treaty of Lisbon amends both again and renames

5643-454: The bottom of their ERM bands. Having "resolved to achieve the strengthening and the convergence and to establish an economic and monetary union including,... a single and stable currency", the Treaty ruled that "Member States shall regard their economic policies as a matter of common concern", and that the obligations assumed should be a matter for "mutual surveillance." Commonly known as the Maastricht criteria, these obligations represented

5742-451: The burden of adjustment upon wage-, and benefit-, dependent households. Greek finance minister Yanis Varoufakis credited the Maastricht criteria with framing of a union of deflation and unemployment. Taking issue in defence of the Maastricht criteria, German finance minister Wolfgang Schäuble argued that "the old way to stimulate growth will not work." There is a real "moral hazard" in allowing Member States to accumulate higher debts within

5841-400: The convergence criteria denied member states the resort to currency deflation to ease balance-of-payments constraints on domestic spending, and left labour market "flexibility" as the main mean of coping with asymmetric economic shocks. These constraints were to become the focus of political scrutiny and public protest in the new-century European debt crisis . Beginning in 2009 with Greece ,

5940-451: The creation of the EU was Jacques Delors , who briefly continued his previous EEC tenure before handing over to Jacques Santer in 1994. The first pillar was the only one established according to then-innovative principles of supranationalism . The pillar structure of the EU allowed the areas of European co-operation to be increased without leaders handing a large amount of power to supranational institutions. The pillar system segregated

6039-438: The development of the Union", and asked it to help "elaborate and implement decisions and actions of the Union which have defence implications. Yet it is clear that nothing is to be construed as systematically constraining the foreign or defence policies of the individual Member States. "Failing a Council decision", which would require unanimity, a Member State is free to take such action as it considers "necessary". This, in part,

SECTION 60

#1732852294546

6138-494: The end of World War II , sovereign European countries have entered into treaties and thereby co-operated and harmonised policies (or pooled sovereignty ) in an increasing number of areas, in the European integration project or the construction of Europe ( French : la construction européenne ). The following timeline outlines the legal inception of the European Union (EU)—the principal framework for this unification. The EU inherited many of its present responsibilities from

6237-471: The end of the ethnonationalist conflict in Northern Ireland was signed under the context of the shared membership of the UK and Ireland in the EU. Following the result of the 2016 United Kingdom European Union membership referendum , when 52 percent of those who voted supported ' Brexit ' (a portmanteau of "British exit"), the UK negotiated its withdrawal from the European Union. After the vote, British Prime Minister David Cameron , who supported staying in

6336-401: The environment. In these and other areas which do not fall within Community's "exclusive competence", in accordance with "the principle of subsidiarity " action is to be taken only if, "by reason of the scale or effects", the objectives cannot be more "efficiently" achieved by the Member States themselves. In several of these areas, the Treaty seeks to enhance the "democratic functioning" of

6435-414: The establishment of a common (and later single) European market. In time, the tension between the transferred worker as "a mobile unit of production" contributing to the success of the single market, and the reality of the Community migrants as individuals, seeking to exercise "a personal right" to live and work in another state for their own, and their families', welfare, asserted itself. The Treaty built on

6534-412: The formal name of the European Court of Justice was the "Court of Justice of the European Communities" until 2009. In 1967, the Merger Treaty combined these separate executives. The Commission and Council of the EEC were to take over the responsibilities of its counterparts in the other organisations. From then on they became known collectively as the "European Communities", for example the commission

6633-654: The future ECB and euro in national, or Union-coordinated, reflationary policies, Maastricht affirmed what by the late 1980s was the general economic-policy orthodoxy within the Community. This has been described as a "reversed Keynesianism ": macro-economic policy not to secure a full-employment level of demand, but, through the restrictive control of monetary growth and public expenditure, to maintain price and financial market stability; micro economic policy, not to engineer income and price controls in support of fiscal expansion, but to encourage job creation by reducing barriers to lower labour costs. The commitment to monetary union and

6732-475: The governments of several Euro-zone countries (Portugal, Ireland, Spain and Cyprus ) declared themselves unable to repay or refinance their government debt or to bail out over-indebted banks without assistance from third parties. The " austerity " they had subsequently to impose as a condition of assistance from Germany and other of their trade-surplus EU partners, raised calls for new arrangements to better manage payment imbalances between member states, and ease

6831-445: The growing suggestion that there was a Community-wide basis for citizenship rights. The Treaty rules that "every person holding the nationality of a Member State shall be a citizen of the Union". This common and parallel citizenship accords the Member State migrants not only the civil right to take up residence and employment, but also, and for the first time, political rights. In a new EU country of residence Member-State nationals have

6930-438: The institutions by conceding the directly elected European Parliament rights not only of consultation but also of co-decision on some categories of European legislation. It also grants the Parliament the power to confirm (and therefore to veto) the Council's nominations for the European Commission , the Community's executive. Titles III and IV amend the treaties establishing the ECSC and Euratom to complete their absorption into

7029-407: The institutions of the ECSC but have separate executive structures. The ECSC's aim was to combine the coal and steel industries of its members to create a single market in those resources. It was intended that this would increase prosperity and decrease the risk of these countries going to war through the process of European integration . The EAEC was working on nuclear energy co-operation between

7128-404: The members. The EEC was to create a customs union and general economic co-operation. It later led to the creation of a European single market . The EEC became the European Community pillar of the EU , with the ECSC and EAEC continuing in a similar subordinate position, existing separately in a legal sense but governed by the institutions of the EU as if they were its own. The ECSC's treaty had

7227-477: The national central banks, but to include the prospective currency-issuing European Central Bank . As envisaged by the Treaty, the ECB replaced its shadow European Monetary Institute on 1 June 1998, and began exercising its full powers with the introduction of the euro on 1 January 1999. The Treaty dedicates the EU central banking system to price stability, and gives it "a degree of independence from elected officials" greater even "than that of its putative model,

7326-484: The national currency within "the normal fluctuation margins by the exchange-rate mechanism of the European Monetary System without severe tensions for at least the last two years"; and 4. nominal long-term interest rates no more than 2 percentage points higher than in the three Member States with the lowest inflation. These criteria in turn dictated the mandate of the European System of Central Banks comprising

7425-562: The negotiation of subsequent treaties (see below), culminating in the 2007 Treaty of Lisbon . In the wake of the Eurozone debt crisis unfolding from 2009, the most enduring reference to the Maastricht Treaty has been to the rules of compliance – the "Maastricht criteria" – for the currency union . Against the background of the end of the Cold War and the re-unification of Germany , and in anticipation of accelerated globalisation ,

7524-478: The number of EU nationals who were refused entry to the UK increased fivefold. On 2 October 2024, the UK and the EU agreed to strengthen their relationship following the disruptions caused by Brexit. During talks in Brussels, Keir Starmer and Ursula von der Leyen emphasized their commitment to enhancing cooperation on issues such as economic growth, energy, security, and migration. They reaffirmed their dedication to

7623-444: The objectives', subjective notions which leave the way wide open for interpretation or practical developments." Jacques Santer, Prime Minister of Luxembourg, conceded that consensus around the principle of subsidiarity had been possible only because "it conceals different interpretations". The 1992 Treaty may have introduced a more consequential constitutional principle in its promotion "co-decision". It introduced procedures that made

7722-415: The obligations are to maintain: 1. Inflation at a rate no more than 1.5 percentage points higher than the average of the three best performing (lowest inflation) Member States; 2. a "budgetary position" that avoids "excessive" government deficits defined in ratios to gross domestic product (GDP) of greater than 3% for annual deficits and 60% for gross government debt ; 3. the exchange rate of

7821-516: The performance thresholds for member states to progress toward the third stage of European Economic and Monetary Union (EMU), the adoption the common currency (designated at the 1995 Madrid European as the Euro ). The four "convergence criteria", as detailed in attached protocols, impose control over inflation, public debt and the public deficit, exchange rate stability and domestic interest rates. With limited leeway granted in exceptional circumstances,

7920-515: The power to review secondary community law as to guarantee basic rights protection in close cooperation with the European Court of Justice. Germany was the last member state to ratify the treaty and it entered into force on November 1, 1993. From the establishment of the European Economic Community in 1957, integrationists argued the free movement of workers was the logical corollary of the free movement of capital, goods and services and integral to

8019-459: The president of France, Charles de Gaulle , who said that "a number of aspects of Britain's economy , from working practices to agriculture " had "made Britain incompatible with Europe" and that Britain harboured a "deep-seated hostility" to any pan-European project. Once de Gaulle had relinquished the French presidency in 1969, the UK made a third and successful application for membership. Following

8118-403: The proposal of the Windsor Framework . The UK failed to take part in the diplomatic discussions that led up to the creation of the European Coal and Steel Community (ECSC), likewise later withdrawing from negotiations for the constitution of the European Economic Community (EEC). The United Kingdom's failed applications to join the European Communities (EC) in 1963 and 1967 were vetoed by

8217-434: The right to vote, and to stand, in both local and European elections. Unresolved in the Treaty is the question of their access to social rights. Political debate continued as to who should have access to public services and welfare systems funded by taxation. French President François Mitterrand was forced to abandon the centrepiece of his Socialist programme in 1983, a job creating reflation , due to speculation against

8316-491: The same exemption secured by Britain from the single currency (Denmark would not have to give up the krone ), allowed for a second referendum . On 18 May 1993, the Maastricht Treaty was endorsed by a vote of 56.7%. In Ireland, the Eleventh Amendment of the Constitution , allowing the state to ratify the Treaty, was approved in a referendum held on 18 June 1992 with the support of 69.1% of votes cast. In September 1992,

8415-420: The same set of institutions . These were the European Coal and Steel Community (ECSC), the European Atomic Energy Community (EAEC or Euratom), and the European Economic Community (EEC), the last of which was renamed the European Community ( EC ) in 1993 by the Maastricht Treaty establishing the European Union . The European Union was established at that time more as a concept rather than an entity, while

8514-453: The second and third "pillars" of the Union. The Treaty, however, proposed no significant departures in these areas. Coordination in foreign and security policy had taken place since the beginning of the 1970s under the name of European Political Cooperation (EPC), which had been first written into the treaties by the 1987 Single European Act . Cooperation on law enforcement, criminal justice , asylum, and immigration and other judicial matters

8613-484: The second and third pillars, with the Council dominating proceedings. This is reflected in the names of the institutions, the council is formally the "Council of the European Union " while the commission is formally the "Commission of the European Communities ". This allowed the new areas to be based on intergovernmentalism (unanimous agreement between governments) rather than majority voting and independent institutions according to supranational democracy. However, after

8712-424: The structure of European Community. Title V and VI extend existing intergovernmental consultations on foreign-policy, security and defence matters, and on "cooperation in the fields of justice and home affairs". In both cases, Member States are to "inform and consult one another within the Council [of Ministers] ", but otherwise cooperate independently of Community institutions. Title VII, Final Provisions, covers

8811-467: The three communities which comprised the European Communities) expired, having reached its 50-year limit (as the first treaty, it was the only one with a limit). No attempt was made to renew its mandate; instead, the Treaty of Nice transferred certain of its elements to the Treaty of Rome and hence its work continued as part of the EC area of the Communities remit. The Treaty of Lisbon merged

8910-403: The three pillars and abolished the European Community, with the European Union becoming the Community's legal successor. Only one of the three European Communities still exists, thus making the designation of "European Communities" obsolete. The abolition of the pillar structure was proposed already under the European Constitution which ultimately failed to pass the ratification process. Since

9009-458: The time of its abolition, the Community pillar covered the following areas: The Protocol on the privileges and immunities of the European Communities grants the European Communities and their institutions certain privileges and immunities such as to allow them to perform their tasks. The International Organizations Immunities Act (22 USC § 288h) of the United States has also been extended to

9108-492: The treaty negotiated tensions between member states seeking deeper integration and those wishing to retain greater national control. The resulting compromise faced what was to be the first in a series of EU treaty ratification crises. Having "resolved to continue the process of creating an ever closer union among the people of Europe", the Treaty proposes "further steps to be taken in order to advance European integration" under seven titles. Title I, Common Provisions, establishes

9207-554: The two camps. Conservative and Labour parties alike usually pandered to the prejudices towards the EC espoused by the Britons, who rather than commit to a European idea, generally preferred to hanker for the bygone days of British world hegemony. In the United Kingdom European Communities membership referendum of 1975 , two-thirds of British voters favoured continued EC membership. The highest-ever rejection of membership

9306-587: Was a concession to United Kingdom which continued to insist on the sufficiency of the North Atlantic alliance (supported by the non-aligned Member States, Ireland and Austria , at the 1997 Amsterdam summit, the UK prevented a merger of the WEU and the EU), As an implicit presumption subsidiarity may have been considered a check upon the supranational development of the EEC. But in making it an explicit constitutional principle

9405-457: Was being pursued under the 1990 Schengen Agreement and Convention. The new provisions called on governments to "inform and consult one another within the Council of Ministers", but otherwise continued cooperation on the basis of intergovernmental liaison outside of the EC and its institutions. The West European Union , an until recently moribund club within NATO , is described as "an integral part of

9504-454: Was in 1980, the first full year of Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher 's term of office, with 65% opposed to and 26% in favour of membership. As a member of the EU, the United Kingdom never adopted the use of the euro or joined the Schengen Area , which, bringing down border controls in a number of countries, thereby allowed for free movement of citizens. Likewise, the UK government adhered to

9603-638: Was known as the "Commission of the European Communities", although the communities themselves remained separate in legal terms. The Maastricht Treaty built upon the Single European Act and the Solemn Declaration on European Union in the creation of the European Union . The treaty was signed on 7 February 1992 and came into force on 1 November 1993. The emerging Union integrated the European Communities as its institutional core and one of its three pillars . The first Commission President following

9702-468: Was later ratified by both parties. UK government attempts to unilaterally reject the terms of the agreed Northern Ireland Protocol have exacerbated post-Brexit relations. Although the United Kingdom has maintained strong relations with some EU member states, the decision to withdraw and subsequent turbulent process of negotiating the Trade and Cooperation Agreement sparked criticism of the United Kingdom across

9801-409: Was merged with the second and third EU pillars by the Treaty of Lisbon in 2009, finally allowing the European Union to move beyond being only a concept and to assume the shape of a legally incorporated international organization with juridical personality, designated as the legal successor to the Community. However, the reformed EU has not become entirely unified, because Euratom, though governed with

#545454