a city in the Netherlands. The leaders of the 12 countries of the European Community met there in 1992 to sign the Maastricht Treaty , an agreement about closer union between European countries. This included plans to have a single currency, a shared defence force and a more powerful European Parliament . Many people in Britain were opposed to the agreement, and there were disagreements about it within the British Conservative government. Britain finally signed it in 1993, but the continued disagreements within the government were an important factor in their defeat at the election of 1997. A new version of the Treaty was signed in Amsterdam in 1997 by the British Labour government.
See also Euro-sceptic , Social Chapter . ➡ note at European Union .