What did the Maastricht Treaty do?
The Treaty pushed forward two broad processes – the widening of EU responsibilities and the deepening of integration. This meant using supranational structures in some areas while using intergovernmental ones in others. In order to make EMU possible it amended the original Treaty of Rome, reinforcing the economic responsibilities of the European Community in line with the goals of the SEA. At the same time, however, it set up a whole new range of intergovernmental responsibilities outside the remit of the Treaty of Rome in the areas of a common foreign policy and home affairs. Institutionally, it transformed the way in which the organisation was structured. While the Commission retained responsibility for the economic ‘pillar’ of EU activity, the new ‘pillars’ were to be controlled not by the Commission but by the European Council. However, the three separate pillars would all be linked under the overarching structure of the European Union.
