Maastricht Treaty 30 years on: Has EU been a success? — RT Op-ed https://www.rt.

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7 Feb, 2022 08:01 / Home / Tags / Op-ed Top stories

Maastricht Treaty 30 years on:

Has EU been a success?

Paul A. Nuttall is a historian, author and a former politician.

He was a Member of the European Parliament between
2009 and 2019 and was a prominent campaigner for Brexit. Putin warns of
'genocide'

How Nazi war criminals

found safe haven
FEATURE

Drastic measures taken

by departing US
diplomats in Kiev
revealed by media

Bolsonaro gets closer to

FILE PHOTO. A woman reads an election Putin than Orban,
signboard, on September 07, 1992 in Paris, Macron, and Scholz
presenting the referendum on the Maastricht (VIDEOS)
Treaty, to be held on September 20, 1992. ©
AFP / PIERRE BOUSSEL China dumping US
dollar in trade &
investment in Asia
Those behind the European project understood that
they had to keep their true intentions hidden from
Johnny Depp receives
the public. Although they always knew that the final
medal
destination was a United States of Europe, they
were politically savvy enough to know that the

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people of Europe would not wear it. Mystery US helicopter

lands on Ukraine-Poland
That’s why throughout the 1960s, 70s, and 80s, border – reports
European federalists disguised their thirst for
political integration in the small print of lots of
Covid vaccines during
economic agreements. Of course, the heads of
pregnancy impact
states and politicians who signed these agreements
newborns – study
were aware that they were only a stepping-stone to
political integration, but they too were in on the plan
and kept their voters in the dark.

Things all changed thirty years ago today, when the

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European federalists had what I call their ‘Wizard of
newsletter to get
Oz moment.’ On February 7, 1992, the Maastricht
news highlights of
Treaty was signed, which drew back the curtain and
the day right in
revealed to the public the true intentions of the
your mailbox
European elites.

The Maastricht E-mail

Treaty was
signed by twelve We offer you the
states, including possibility to receive
Germany, RT's news highlights
every Monday,
France, Italy,
Wednesday and Friday
Ireland, and the
READ MORE: The euro is 20, by email.
UK, and it
but its days may be numbered
created the
European Union. Subscribe
From that
moment, the project ceased to be an economic
community, which was always somewhat of a ruse,
and instead revealed itself as an unashamed
political entity. Indeed, no longer did moves towards
political integration have to be disguised as vague
economic agreements, and from now on it was full-
turbo Euro federalism.

So, what did this seminal treaty actually do? Well,

first it made clear that “every person holding the
nationality of a Member State shall be a citizen of
the Union.” Therefore, those of us who resided in a
member state now had parallel citizenship. We were
no longer just German, British, French, or Italian, we
were also citizens of the European Union, whether
we liked it or not.

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In effect, it meant that those of us who lived within

this new glorious European Union could travel and RT Features
work wherever we wanted in any member state.
After all, we were now a part of one large European-
wide happy family. This, as I will explain, came back
in years to come to haunt the Eurocrats, and in ways
they did not expect.

The treaty officially moved the member states How Nazi war criminals
towards monetary union, with a commitment to found safe haven
FEATURE
create the Euro currency. So, gone forever would be
the Franc, the Deutschmark, the Italian Lira, the
Peseta, and they hoped one day, the British Pound.
Instead, in their places, there would be a Europe-
wide currency controlled by the European Central
Bank (ECB) in Frankfurt, Germany.

But the treaty did not stop there and, in some ways, China’s dramatic
one has to respect the naked ambition contained in population decline may
it, as well as the hubris. Maastricht for example, have a profound effect
gave “broader authority, including formal control of on its future FEATURE
community policies on development, education,
public health, and consumer protection and an
increased role in environmental protection, social
and economic cohesion, and technological
research.”

Moreover, the Meet the westerners

Maastricht Treaty going child-free to ‘save
gave the the planet’ FEATURE
European Court
of Justice (ECJ)
Podcasts All podcasts
the power to fine
member states
READ MORE: How the latest
for non-
Ukraine escalation split the EU Dennis Miller+1: Former
compliance with NFL player Ryan Shazier
EU rules and talks overcoming life-
changing injury
regulations. We
are witnessing that being played out at the moment
with the battle over EU rule of law in Poland,
Hungary, and Romania.

Maastricht represented the largest and most

profound transfer of power from sovereign states to
a supranational organisation, without it coming

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through invasion or the use of military force.

However, the problem the Eurocrats faced was that
the treaty’s ratification required referendums in
some countries, and unsurprisingly, they found the
public were divided.

The treaty was not positively received in EU

member states. The French, for example, only Privacy policy

narrowly supported the ratification of the treaty in a

referendum, with 51% voting in favour 49% against. Going Underground: The
The Danes voted No to the ratification of the treaty West wants to keep Africa
by a similarly close margin. Although the Danes as beggars

were asked to vote again in 1993 and ratified the

treaty, albeit with opt-outs, the message was clear:
not all the peoples of Europe were invested in where
the EU was headed.

The treaty also led to political uproar in the UK. John

Major’s Conservative government, which backed the
Privacy policy
UK signing the treaty, only managed to hang on by
the skin of its teeth. Moreover, the decision of the
government to support the document led to the
creation of UKIP, and therefore Maastricht was the
first step on the long road to Brexit, some 24 years
later.

Has the EU since Maastricht been a success? In

one sense the answer has to be yes, as the union
has accrued ever more competences from member
states, and it has continued to expand. But this is
where it all began to unravel.

The Maastricht
Treaty was
signed by
western
READ MORE: Poland’s
European states,
insistence it will never accept a
all with relatively
United States of Europe puts it
similar
firmly on a collision course with
economies.
the EU
Therefore, the
movement of
peoples between
member states was reasonable, and, on the whole,
unnoticeable. However, when the EU chose to

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expand further eastwards in the early 2000s, and

incorporated poorer economies, people began to
drift westwards in droves, looking for work.

Suddenly wages, particularly in blue-collar jobs,

began to depreciate and working-class people
began to notice that their communities were
changing at breakneck speed in front of their eyes.
Governments were powerless to stop it happening
because the people who were coming were
European citizens under the provisions of
Maastricht, and its updated versions. And here is
where the backlash began and why Eurosceptic
movements across western Europe began to grow.

Indeed, this is one of the principal reasons the UK

voted to leave the EU in 2016. It is therefore easy to
make the argument that if there was no Maastricht
Treaty, there would have been no Brexit.

Today marks the thirtieth anniversary of the creation

of the EU. What we find is an organisation struggling
to be relevant on the international stage. Dreams of
a fully federal Europe contained in the Maastricht
Treaty may well still burn brightly in Berlin and Paris,
but less so in Budapest and Warsaw. The UK has
already walked out of the club and others may well
follow its lead. I hope I am still around to write a
piece to celebrate the fiftieth anniversary of the
Maastricht Treaty because I think we will find that
the EU will look very different, if it exists at all.

The statements, views and opinions

expressed in this column are solely those of
the author and do not necessarily represent
those of RT.

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Draclejandro • 4 hours ago

Down with the Eu!
• Reply • Share ›

Bernard Galway • 7 days ago

I hope I'm a round to see this Degenerate
organization die and those who support it are held
accountable to the people
• Reply • Share ›

Trudi LM • 8 days ago

It's true it's always been about the 'bigger picture'.
The EU does not recognise Nation States, it simply
sees 'territory' and 'assets'. It's policies and it's
Courts are designed to smash member States ready
for re-assembly. It was all laid out in the INTERREG
programme for those who cared to read it. When the
deed is done, through economic devastation, the
public will finally wake up and realise the careful
planning and infrastructure systems have us pinned
like butterflies in a display case. Our only hope left is
in reincarnation.
• Reply • Share ›

DemianovichK • 8 days ago

EU might have been a noble idea in the beginning,

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but it went off the rails, was hijacked.

1 • Reply • Share ›

Brezo • 8 days ago

It was a success for Germany as it finally got 4th
reich and colonies.
1 • Reply • Share ›

Gnome > Brezo • 8 days ago

There's an article about Germany being "an
occupied country" on this site. You certainly
understand that it can't be both, Germany
"finally having its 4th Reich" and being
occupied at the same time, right?

https://www.rt. com/russia/548712-germany-
occupied-us-nordstream-zakharova/

Which is it then?

Maybe it's time to face the music and admit

that had the Germans won we would not live
in this clown world today.
• Reply • Share ›

Horia Pilat • 8 days ago

YES! The EU is a success. Either way you like it or
not. The EU is the best place to live in this days. Get
over it
3 • Reply • Share ›

ts • 8 days ago
I agree with Mr. Nutall that initially it was a much
smaller trading circle. But things kept getting added
without the people's consent. We are on different
sides of the fence here. British working class people
thought that being in would protect them from
exploitation. They thought that they would be paid
fairer and have better working conditions. Now, in
general look at those who support it and those who
don't. Completely upside down. In today's World I
don't mind business people saying "Don't like it too
much red tape" and yet parliament has made a point
of wrapping us up even more.
1 • Reply • Share ›

Captain Rabbit • 9 days ago

There won't be a fiftieth.
3 • Reply • Share ›

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3 Reply Share ›

Daffy Duck • 9 days ago

The EU was a CIA project
6 • Reply • Share ›

Oskar Bardiovsky > Daffy Duck

• 8 days ago • edited
Said fsb agent
• Reply • Share ›

Ant • 9 days ago

The Maastricht Treaty was a truly sad day in
European history.
8 • Reply • Share ›

Captain Rabbit > Ant • 9 days ago • edited

I was in Denmark and prominent in the fight
against it. The 1% NO was the loudest 1%
ever spoken. Then we got cheated in the
second referendum. It was a bait and switch
and itself was never supposed to happen. I
left Europe thereafter.

Even though you're an arse I like to kick, we

can agree on many things I am sure.
3 • Reply • Share ›

Ant > Captain Rabbit • 9 days ago

I thought for a terrifying moment that
you had written "even though you've
an arse I'd like to lick"....I am extremely
relieved to find I had misread that.

If I remember rightly, the Danish

government refused to accept the first
result ( a rejection of Maastricht), and
told Danes to go back and vote the
correct way the second time....which
they obediently did.
3 • Reply • Share ›

Captain Rabbit > Ant

• 9 days ago • edited
Maybe if you were a toad, I'd
lick your eyelids. :-)

That's as good a summary as it

gets, yes. We saw Christenson
and Shluter fall to bits as the
results came in, live on TV. As it

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results came in, live on TV. As it

became clear they'd lost, the
PM lost it. He was looking
bedraggled and scared. his tie
was loose and his shirt hanging
out. Like he'd been roughed up.
They shut down the live
broadcast right then. Came
back on a bit later and he was
all tidied up and looking smart
as he said along the lines of "
Hmmm, we are wondering what
this means? We think the
people are saying they've not
been properly informed, and
maybe we should have been
more forthcoming with
explanations. That was setting
the stage for the next
referendum the same night! The
number one point all along was
that this was THE ONE and only
ref. There'd be no further talk,
and if we voted no, then no it
was. I was young enough to be
shocked and outraged. I'd
given that campaign my life's
blood. As one of six Aussies
even living in the country, mid
Crocodile Dundee and Danes
were in love with us, I stuck my
neck way out.
2 • Reply • Share ›

Ant > Captain Rabbit

• 9 days ago
That's the way politicians
always deal with rejection.
While trying to look humble,
they mutter about how "we
obviously didn't explain
ourselves clearly enough" or
"the people were misinformed
about our intentions", always
arrogantly implying that they
only reason they failed or were
voted out was because the
peasants were too stupid to
understand.

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I'd be careful about licking

toads..... they may turn into
Prince Harry. Licking toes,
Fergie style, is much more
appropriate.
3 • Reply • Share ›

Captain Rabbit > Ant

• 9 days ago • edited
Oh and get this. The second ref
was only regarding a couple of
provisions re summer houses
for example. People said yes to
these and the government
goes... :Hmm, well that is
interesting. These must have
been the problem points, oh
dear we should have asked if
this meant the people want into
the treaty after all. Silly us, why
didn't we think to include that in
the ref? We cannot burden the
people with another
referendum. OK, we'll decide
that's what the people mean
and they simply agreed, despite
the NO still being the only
answer to joining.

I prefer my toes to be licked,

and this can turn me into a
horned toad.
2 • Reply • Share ›

santiago > Captain Rabbit

• 8 days ago • edited
The same thing happened here
in Ireland with Lisbon treaty, we
were told our vote would be
respected.. .it wasn't,instead
they waited a while in a period
they called "mature reflection"
so enough time could
pass...then another referendum
2 • Reply • Share ›

Bernard Galway > santiago

• 7 days ago
You have to admit we have
some real stupid people here in

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some real stupid people here in

Ireland who elect and vote the
same Degenerates in over and
over again. 70% of the Irish
population believe RTE!
1 • Reply • Share ›

Ant > Captain Rabbit

• 9 days ago
A horny toad, huh?
• Reply • Share ›

TheFishhv2 • 9 days ago

EU is only Germany and France. The rest are milking
cows.
7 2 • Reply • Share ›

Marius > TheFishhv2 • 9 days ago

Italy is no miking cow and has been the actual
creator of the EU some 2000 years ago when
it was then known as SPQR. In fact Italians
have done much and given much to Europe
and the rest of the world. Further it was an
active participant of the current reincarnation
and contributes in a significant way. It is also a
significant member of NATO much more so
then Germany.

Stop being so ignorant and biased.

• Reply • Share ›

Bernard Galway > Marius

• 7 days ago
Your country is bankrupt and has been
since joining the euro you just can't
admit it. Your membership of the
Degenerate EU is feeding Germany .
Nothing biased or ignorant it fact.
• Reply • Share ›

Marius > Bernard Galway

• 7 days ago
I am economist and tell you that
you know no clue what you are
saying. The standard of living of
half the country is one of the
heist in all off CE and UK , while
the other half is at par. Further
Italians are significant savers.
Again one of the heist. Our

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industry is completive and

vibrant. You are spewing an
ignorant uninformed biased.
However I will say that Italy has
made concessions at
Germany's benefit.
1 • Reply • Share ›

Bernard Galway > Marius

• 6 days ago
What kind of economist are
you? Your living in EU
immigration world. Italy is
destroyed mostly because your
a member of the EU and you
accepted euro which was the
biggest mistake you made. Italy
has done more then some
concessions to just Germany
like most other European
counties have been Italy went a
step more, You sold out.
1 • Reply • Share ›

rtlies • 9 days ago

Well it has achieved what france and germany
wanted, which was to give them total hegemony over
Europe.
6 2 • Reply • Share ›

Tony Hill > rtlies • 9 days ago

Your statement proves your "total" ignorance
as regards the "special relationship" or your
being part of it.
3 • Reply • Share ›

rtlies > Tony Hill • 7 days ago

Clueless.
• Reply • Share ›

Sealark • 9 days ago

The EU is a success for America who controls every
country, not EU citizens.
9 1 • Reply • Share ›

Nope • 9 days ago

I don't think the EU is its own. It's not independent
and can't act of its own free will without being
penalized if it does something the US doesn't like.

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penalized if it does something the US doesn't like.

9 • Reply • Share ›

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