ABSTRACT
Although the Maastricht Treaty was a response by the European Community (EC) and its member countries to German unification and the end of the cold war, it also had important roots in economic and political developments in the Community prior to the opening of the Berlin Wall. Although the European Community has evolved mainly as an economic organization, political and security considerations were of primary importance in its formation. The institutional development of the present-day EC began with the establishment of the European Coal and Steel Community in 1951. With the establishment of the European Economic Community (EEC), the European movement reached a temporary high point. An important development in the history of the Maastricht Treaty was the establishment of the European Monetary System (EMS) in 1978-1979. The EMS was to initiate a phase of institutional reform in 1981, thus making it into a more permanent structure.
