Thirty years of Maastricht overshadowed by the war in Ukraine

The Treaty of Maastricht, here shown at an exhibition in Regensburg. The book is opened at a page containing the signatures and seals of the ministers representing the heads of state of Belgium, Denmark, Germany and Greece. © Museum der Bayerischen Geschichte/Creative Commons Attribution 2.0 Germany license.

Early in May 2022, French President Emmanuel Macron raised the possibility of a new type of political community that would enable countries outside the EU sign-up to "European core values”.

He said that this would enable the "European political community" to open up to democratic European nations that do not belong to the European Union (EU).