Maastricht, n.
(ˈmɑːstrɪxt)
[The name of a city in the south of the Netherlands, near the Belgian border.]
Used attrib. (esp. as Maastricht agreement or treaty) or absol. to denote an agreement reached between European Community leaders at a summit meeting held at Maastricht in December 1991 concerning progress towards European economic, monetary, and political union, and also containing a protocol regarding social and employment policy in member states (see social charter s.v. *social a. 12).
| 1991 Independent 24 Oct. 1/3 The Prime Minister's office..suggested last night that such bumps were to be expected on the road to Maastricht. 1992 Police Rev. 17 Jan. 120/3 That is why the Maastricht agreement on a Europol police intelligence agency—with drugs intelligence as the first building block—is so welcome. 1992 Time 28 Sept. 42/2 Supporters of European unity could claim that the closer union envisaged in the Maastricht treaty would give everyone else a greater say over Germany's actions. 1993 Evening Standard 22 June 13/6 The minute Maastricht is ratified, the European Commission will start inflicting its directives again, and the question of closer European interference will return to the forefront of debate. |