Maastricht's Flaws Still Plague Europe, 25 Years Later

Twenty five years ago this month, the representatives of 12 countries gathered in the Dutch city of Maastricht to sign the Treaty on European Union. Its claim to mark "a new stage in the process of creating an ever closer union among the peoples of Europe" looks grandiose and overblown a quarter of a century later. More importantly, the economic convergence it promised looks further away than ever.

That's a problem in more ways than one. It presents the European Central Bank with the dilemma of how to set monetary policy for a multi-speed economy, with Germany in particular chafing at ultra-low interest rates. The lack of convergence also undermines support for the European project, with the economic benefits harder to argue for in, say, Italy, which is suffering an unemployment rate of 12 percent, twice Germany's 5.9 percent jobless level.