The Treaty on European Union is signed in Maastricht on 7 February 1992 and enters into force on 1 November 1993.

The Treaty on European Union is signed in Maastricht on 7 February 1992 and enters into force on 1 November 1993.

Signing of the Treaty on European Union on 7 February 1992 in the Limburg Province Government buildings, Maastricht.

Photograph of the seat of the Limburg Provincial Government, Maastricht, venue for the Maastricht European Council of 7–9 December 1991 and the signing ceremony of the Treaty on European Union on 7 February 1992.

European Parliament resolution of 7 April 1992 incorporating Parliament's opinion on the Maastricht Treaty. The European Parliament recognises the positive elements included in the Treaty but emphasises its major shortcomings, which it summarises in this resolution.

In this interview, Jacques F. Poos, former Luxembourg Foreign Minister, refers to the origins and historical importance of the Treaty of Maastricht on European Union, with particular regard to monetary issues and European citizenship.

In this interview, Jacques F. Poos, former Luxembourg Foreign Minister, recalls the objectives of the three-pillar structure of the Treaty of Maastricht on European Union and describes the limits set on Europe by the intergovernmental approach and the unanimity rule.

The Treaty signed on 7 February 1992 in Maastricht lays the foundations for a new European structure. It establishes a ‘European Union' that brings together not only the three European Communities, but also two areas of political cooperation between Member States (CFSP and JHA). The aim is to allow these three elements to develop within a unified framework. This new structure is generally represented in the form of a Greek temple made of three pillars: the Community pillar, which has a supranational character, and the second and third pillars, which have an intergovernmental character.

Symbolic photo showing the Treaty on European Union, which was signed in Maastricht on 7 February 1992 and came into force on 1 November 1993, in the 10 official languages of the European Union of the Twelve.

In this interview excerpt, Joseph Weyland, Permanent Representative to the European Communities from 1984 to 1991 and Chairman of the Group of Personal Representatives of the Foreign Ministers of the European Communities from 1 January to 30 June 1991, recalls the origins of the new institutional architecture agreed on at the 1991 Intergovernmental Conference on Political Union. This structure is generally represented as a Greek temple with three pillars: the supranational Community pillar and the second and third pillars which are intergovernmental in nature.