FACTSHEETS

THE MAASTRICHT AND AMSTERDAM TREATIES

The Maastricht Treaty altered the former European treaties and created a European
Union based on three pillars: the European Communities, the common foreign and
security policy (CFSP) and cooperation in the field of justice and home affairs
(JHI). With a view to the enlargement of the Union, the Amsterdam Treaty made
the adjustments needed to enable the Union to function more efficiently and
democratically.

THE MAASTRICHT TREATY

The Treaty on European Union[1], signed in Maastricht on 7 February 1992, entered into
force on 1 November 1993.
A. The Union’s structures
By instituting a European Union, the Maastricht Treaty marked a new step in
the process of creating an ‘ever-closer union among the peoples of Europe’. The
Union was based on the European Communities and supported by policies and
forms of cooperation provided for in the Treaty on European Union. It had a
single institutional structure, consisting of the Council, the European Parliament,
the European Commission, the Court of Justice and the Court of Auditors which
(being at the time strictly speaking the only EU institutions) exercised their powers
in accordance with the Treaties. The Treaty established an Economic and Social
Committee and a European Committee of the Regions, which both had advisory
powers. A European System of Central Banks and a European Central Bank were set
up under the provisions of the Treaty in addition to the existing financial institutions in
the EIB group, namely the European Investment Bank and the European Investment
Fund.
B. The Union’s powers
The Union created by the Maastricht Treaty was given certain powers by the Treaty,
which were classified into three groups and were commonly referred to as ‘pillars’: the
first pillar consisted of the European Communities and provided a framework enabling
powers for which Member States had transferred sovereignty in areas governed by
the Treaty to be exercised by the Community institutions. The second pillar was the
common foreign and security policy laid down in Title V of the Treaty. The third pillar
was cooperation in the fields of justice and home affairs laid down in Title VI of the
Treaty. Titles V and VI provided for intergovernmental cooperation using the common
institutions, with certain supranational features such as involving the Commission and
consulting Parliament.
1. The European Community (first pillar)
The Community’s task was to make the single market work and to promote, among
other things, a harmonious, balanced and sustainable development of economic
activities, a high level of employment and of social protection and equality between

[1]OJ C 191, 29.7.1992, p. 1.

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men and women. The Community pursued these objectives, acting within the limits of
its powers, by establishing a common market and related measures set out in Article 3
of the EC Treaty and by initiating the economic and single monetary policy referred to
in Article 4. Community activities had to respect the principle of proportionality and,
in areas that did not fall within its exclusive competence, the principle of subsidiarity
(Article 5 of the EC Treaty).
2. The common foreign and security policy (CFSP) (second pillar)
The Union had the task of defining and implementing, by intergovernmental methods,
a common foreign and security policy. The Member States were to support this policy
actively and unreservedly in a spirit of loyalty and mutual solidarity. Its objectives were:
to safeguard the common values, fundamental interests, independence and integrity
of the Union in conformity with the principles of the United Nations Charter; to
strengthen the security of the Union in all ways; to promote international cooperation;
to develop and consolidate democracy and the rule of law, and respect for human
rights and fundamental freedoms.
3. Cooperation in the fields of justice and home affairs (third pillar)
The Union’s objective was to develop common action in these areas by
intergovernmental methods to provide citizens with a high level of safety within an
area of freedom, security and justice. It covered the following areas:
— Rules and the exercise of controls on crossing the Community’s external borders;
— Combating terrorism, serious crime, drug trafficking and international fraud;
— Judicial cooperation in criminal and civil matters;
— Creation of a European Police Office (Europol) with a system for exchanging
information between national police forces;
— Controlling illegal immigration;
— Common asylum policy.

THE AMSTERDAM TREATY

The Treaty of Amsterdam amending the Treaty on European Union, the Treaties
establishing the European Communities and certain related acts[2], signed in
Amsterdam on 2 October 1997, entered into force on 1 May 1999.
A. Increased powers for the Union
1. European Community
With regard to objectives, special prominence was given to balanced and sustainable
development and a high level of employment. A mechanism was set up to coordinate
Member States’ policies on employment, and there was a possibility of some
Community measures in this area. The Agreement on Social Policy was incorporated
into the EC Treaty with some improvements (removal of the opt-out). The Community
method now applied to some major areas which had hitherto come under the third
pillar, such as asylum, immigration, crossing external borders, combating fraud,

[2]OJ C 340, 10.11.1997, p. 115

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customs cooperation and judicial cooperation in civil matters, in addition to some

of the cooperation under the Schengen Agreement, which the EU and Communities
endorsed in full.
2. European Union
Intergovernmental cooperation in the areas of police and judicial cooperation was
strengthened by defining objectives and precise tasks and creating a new legal
instrument similar to a directive. The instruments of the common foreign and security
policy were developed later, in particular by creating a new instrument, the common
strategy, a new office, the ‘Secretary-General of the Council responsible for the
CFSP’, and a new structure, the ‘Policy Planning and Early Warning Unit’.
B. A stronger position for Parliament
1. Legislative power
Under the codecision procedure, which was extended to the existing 15 legal
bases under the EC Treaty, Parliament and the Council became co-legislators on a
practically equal footing. With the exception of agriculture and competition policy, the
codecision procedure applied to all the areas where the Council was permitted to take
decisions by qualified majority. In four cases (Articles 18, 42 and 47 and Article 151 on
cultural policy, which remained unchanged) the codecision procedure was combined
with a requirement for a unanimous decision in the Council. The other legislative areas
where unanimity was required were not subject to codecision.
2. Power of control
As well as voting to approve the Commission as a body, Parliament also had a vote
to approve in advance the person nominated as President of the future Commission
(Article 214).
3. Election and statute of Members
With regard to the procedure for elections to Parliament by direct universal suffrage
(Article 190 of the EC Treaty), the Community’s power to adopt common principles
was added to the existing power to adopt a uniform procedure. A legal basis making it
possible to adopt a single statute for MEPs was included in the same article. However,
there was still no provision allowing measures to develop political parties at European
level (cf. Article 191).
C. Closer cooperation
For the first time, the Treaties contained general provisions allowing some Member
States under certain conditions to take advantage of common institutions to organise
closer cooperation between themselves. This option was in addition to the closer
cooperation covered by specific provisions, such as economic and monetary union,
creation of the area of freedom, security and justice and incorporating the Schengen
provisions. The areas where closer cooperation was possible were the third pillar and,
under particularly restrictive conditions, matters subject to non-exclusive Community
competence. The conditions which any closer cooperation had to fulfil and the planned
decision-making procedures had been drawn up in such a way as to ensure that this
new factor in the process of integration would remain exceptional and, at all events,

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could only be used to move further towards integration and not to take retrograde
steps.
D. Simplification
The Amsterdam Treaty removed from the European Treaties all provisions that the
passage of time had rendered void or obsolete, while ensuring that this did not affect
the legal effects derived from them in the past. It also renumbered the Treaty articles.
For legal and political reasons the Treaty was signed and submitted for ratification in
the form of amendments to the existing Treaties.
E. Institutional reforms with a view to enlargement
1. The Amsterdam Treaty set the maximum number of Members of the European
Parliament, in line with Parliament’s request, at 700 (Article 189).
2. The composition of the Commission and the question of weighted votes were
covered by a ‘Protocol on the Institutions’ attached to the Treaty. This provided
that, in a Union of up to 20 Member States, the Commission would comprise
one national of each Member State, provided that by that date, weighting of
the votes in the Council had been modified. At all events, at least a year before
the 21st Member State joined, a new intergovernmental conference would have
to comprehensively review the Treaties’ provisions on the institutions.
3. There was provision for the Council to use qualified majority voting in a number
of the legal bases newly established by the Amsterdam Treaty. However, of the
existing Community policies, only research policy had new provisions on qualified
majority voting, with other policies still requiring unanimity.
F. Other matters
A protocol covered Community procedures for implementing the principle of
subsidiarity. New provisions on access to documents (Article 255) and greater
openness in the Council’s legislative work (Article 207(3)) improved transparency.

ROLE OF THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT

The European Parliament was consulted before an intergovernmental conference was
called. Parliament was also involved in the intergovernmental conferences according
to ad hoc formulas; during the last three it was represented, depending on the case,
by its President or by two of its members.
This fact sheet was prepared by the European Parliament’s Policy Department for
Citizens’ Rights and Constitutional Affairs.

Mariusz Maciejewski
07/2024

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