Which treaty created the European Union in 1993?

The Maastricht Treaty created the European Union in 1993.

Formally called the Treaty on European Union, the Maastricht Treaty was signed in Maastricht, Netherlands, on 7 February 1992. It entered into force on 1 November 1993, establishing the European Union and giving a new political framework to European cooperation beyond the earlier economic communities.

The treaty set out cooperation in three broad areas often described as pillars: the European Communities, a common foreign and security policy, and cooperation in justice and home affairs. It also introduced European Union citizenship and laid the groundwork for economic and monetary union, including the future adoption of a single currency by qualifying member states.

The euro later entered circulation as coins and banknotes in 2002, so the Maastricht Treaty did not itself put euro cash into people’s hands. The earlier Treaty of Rome created the European Economic Community in 1957, while the Treaty of Lisbon, effective in 2009, amended the EU’s institutional rules.