  
 The Maastricht Treaty and Economic and Monetary Union
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The Maastricht Treaty was signed on 7 February 1992, and the EC Treaty thus became the Treaty on European Union. Among other things, the treaty included a three-stage schedule for European Economic and Monetary Union, EMU, and laid down the so-called convergence criteria for member states' economies. The treaty had to be ratified by the member states, and in a referendum on 2 June 1992 Denmark was the first country to decide on accession to the Maastricht Treaty. The result was a rejection of the treaty – 50.7 per cent voted against, while only 49.3 per cent voted in favour of the treaty. At the EC summit in Edinburgh in December 1992 a number of Danish opt-outs were agreed. In February 1993 the Edinburgh decision was implemented in a Danish bill which comprised Danish opt-outs from four areas of the Maastricht Treaty, including that Denmark will not introduce the common currency. The referendum on May 18, 1993 endorsed Denmark's accession to the Maastricht Treaty with the opt-outs set out in the Edinburgh Agreement - 56.7 per cent voted for, and 43.3 per cent against the Agreement.
The Maastricht Treaty came into force on 1 November 1993, after which the EC has been known as the EU.
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