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Norman Lamont Sent His Deputy To Sign Maastricht
- Francis Maude was sent to sign the Maastricht Treaty because Chancellor Norman Lamont declined to attend.
- Maude recounts Lamont telling him it was his chance to "put your footprints on the sands of history," highlighting odd cabinet dynamics at the signing.
Single Currency Pathway Created Structural Tension
- Maastricht set the pathway to a single currency without full economic union, foreshadowing later tensions.
- Barnard notes a single interest rate favoured Germany and contributed to imbalances that later underpinned eurozone crises.
Maastricht Created Citizenship Of The Union
- Maastricht introduced EU citizenship, making nationals of member states also citizens of the Union overnight.
- Catherine Barnard frames this as the logical corollary of political union: politics requires a people, so the treaty created an EU demos.