Maastricht Treaty
The Treaty of Maastricht (officially the Treaty on European Union) was signed by the then 12 member states of the European Economic Community on 7 February 1992 in Maastricht, the Netherlands, after final agreement on December 9, 1991. It entered into force on 1 November 1993. It created the European Union (EU) and set the timetable and criteria for Economic and Monetary Union (EMU) and the creation of the single currency, the euro, by 1999. The EU now has 27 member states.
See also: Maastricht Criteria