Geneza traktatu z Maastricht i jego znaczenie dla integracji i bezpieczeństwa Europy

Abstract

The Maastricht Treaty was signed thirty years ago, on 7 February 1992 and, after ratification, it came into force on 1 November 1993. It was a milestone on the path to European integration, which began after World War II, and an important element of the transatlantic international security system. On its basis, the European Union (EU) was created.Its genesis and decisions were influenced by such events and processes as: the Autumn of Nations 1989, which led to the fall of communism in the countries of Central and Eastern Europe, the unification of Germany on 3 October 1990, the collapse of the Soviet Union in December 1991 and the end of the Cold War.This article aims to analyse the origins of the Maastricht Treaty and show its importance in the integration and security of Europe after the collapse of the Yalta–Potsdam order and the end of the Cold War. The main thesis is that without the fall of communism in the countries of Central and Eastern Europe and the collapse of the USSR, the unification of Germany and the end of the Cold War, the Maastricht Treaty would not have been signed and the EU would not have been created. Moreover, without the Maastricht Treaty and the EU, the international situation after the end of the Cold War would have been less stable as the competition between a united Germany and France for leadership in Europe would have intensified. Russia could have used this to strengthen its position in the post-communist world.