Maastricht Treaty ratified after German court upholds union.

Implementation of the European political and monetary union planned with the adoption of the Maastricht Treaty finally began on November 1, 1993, after Germany's constitutional court upheld its constitutionality. Thus, Germany became the last country to ratify the treaty.

However, the court reserved the right to review the progress of European integration at a later date to make sure the European Community respects a German constitutional guarantee of democracy. Also, the court said the German parliament would have to be consulted before a German government proceeds with a transition to a single European currency. EC President Jacques Delors was hopeful final Maastricht ratification would provide new impetus to fight unemployment and economic stagnation in Europe. A summit meeting of EC heads of state was called to discuss the next steps toward creating a monetary union and a common foreign policy.

John Hegarty, secretary general of the Federation des Experts Comptables Europeans, the representative organization for the accountancy profession in Europe, believed the Maastricht Treaty's impact would be longer term in nature. "The Maastricht agreement emphasizes the subsidiarity concept, which is roughly equivalent to the states' rights concept in the United States," he said. "For that reason, the EC probably will be less enthusiastic about proposing legislation affecting the regulation of the profession, just as the federal government in the United States tends to let the states regulate CPAs in their borders."