The overall aim of the European Union, since its foundation in 1958, is to promote peace; the values of human rights; democracy; equality; the rule of law; and the well-being of its people. These values are the bedrock of the EUs work and its role in the world. It created a framework for the construction of Europe into the future and a process of creating an even closer union between the people of Europe. It enabled Europeans to supplant the economic ruin of the 1940s with a single market of 500 million people and a common currency now used by 320 million Europeans.
The Maastricht Treaty, signed on 7 February 1992 by the members of the European Community in Maastricht, Netherlands led to the creation of the single European currency, the Euro( denoted by ).
The Maastricht criteria
The Maastricht criteria (also known as the convergence criteria) is the criteria for European Union member states to enter the third stage of European Economic and Monetary Union (EMU) and adopt the euro as their currency. The four criterion are defined in article 121 of the treaty establishing the European Community. They impose control over inflation, public debt and the public deficit, exchange rate stability and the convergence of interest rates.
1. Inflation rates: No more than 1.5 percentage points higher than the average of the three best performing (lowest inflation) member states of the EU.
2. Government finance:
Annual government deficit: The ratio of the annual government deficit to gross domestic product (GDP) must not exceed 3% at the end of the preceding fiscal year. If not, it is at least required to reach a level close to 3%. Only exceptional and temporary excesses would be granted for exceptional cases.
Government debt: The ratio of gross government debt to GDP must not exceed 60% at the end of the preceding fiscal year. As of the end of 2010, only four EU member states, Poland, Luxembourg, Finland and the Czech Republic, still meet this target.
3. Exchange rate: Applicant countries should have joined the exchange-rate mechanism (ERM II) under the European Monetary System (EMS) for two consecutive years and should not have devalued its currency during the period.
4. Long-term interest rates: The nominal long-term interest rate must not be more than 2 percentage points higher than in the three lowest inflation member states. The purpose of setting the criteria is to maintain the price stability within the Eurozone even with the inclusion of new member states.
The long term aim of the union was to promote trade amongst the members and form a strong player in the international market with a high collective bargaining power. The increase in intra-union trade was seen as a way of making the European economies self sufficient and prosperous, as well as financially sustainable.
The past of the union has given way to a tumultuous present and a highly speculated future, and only time will tell the way in which the continent is headed.