Which international agreement created the European Union in its present legal form in 1993?

The Maastricht Treaty created the European Union in its present legal form in 1993.

The Treaty on European Union was signed in Maastricht, Netherlands, on 7 February 1992 and entered into force on 1 November 1993. It transformed the European Communities into the European Union and established a broader framework for cooperation in economic, foreign, security, and justice policy.

The treaty laid the groundwork for European citizenship, allowing citizens of member states to receive additional rights, including movement and residence across the Union. It also set convergence criteria for countries seeking to adopt the future common currency, including requirements involving inflation, public finances, exchange-rate stability, and interest rates.

The treaty’s economic and monetary provisions led to the euro, which entered non-cash use in 1999 and circulated as notes and coins from 2002. The Maastricht Treaty did not create the European project from nothing: the 1957 Treaty of Rome had established the European Economic Community, while later amendments, including the Lisbon Treaty, revised the Union’s institutions.