On 8 and 9 December 1989, during the Strasbourg European Council, the Heads of State or Government of the Twelve decide, in particular, that the Intergovernmental Conference (IGC) on the final stages of Economic and Monetary Union (EMU) will reconvene before the end of 1990.

On 28 April 1990, the European Commission sends to the European Foreign Ministers a note on economic and monetary union (EMU) and on the implementation of a new monetary institution, EuroFed.

On 10 October 1990, with a view to the establishment of an Economic and Monetary Union (EMU), the European Parliament adopts a resolution in which it confers on participants at the Intergovernmental Conference (IGC) the task of analysing the amendments that should be made to the Treaty of Rome.

In its conclusions adopted on 15 December 1990, the Rome European Council provides the context for the holding of two Intergovernmental Conferences (IGC) on Economic and Monetary Union (EMU) and on Political Union, officially opening in Rome on the same date.

Le 15 décembre 1990, Guido Carli, ministre italien du Trésor, ouvre solennellement à Rome la Conférence intergouvernementale (CIG) sur l'Union économique et monétaire (UEM).

On 18 June 1991, the Luxembourg Council Presidency presents a draft Treaty on European Union, drawn up on the basis of the proceedings at the two intergovernmental conferences on Political Union and Economic and Monetary Union, which began on 15 December 1990 in Rome. This draft, which proposes the establishment of three pillars for the Union, is to be the basis for negotiations within the two conferences that will lead to the adoption of the Treaty of Maastricht on 7 February 1992.

On 9 and 10 December 1991, the Heads of State or Government of the Twelve meet as the European Council in Maastricht in order to seek agreement on the Treaty on European Union.

Group photo at the Rome European Council held on 14 and 15 December 1990, which sets out in its conclusions the framework within which the two Intergovernmental Conferences (IGCs) on Economic and Monetary Union (EMU) and Political Union will be conducted.

„Maastrichter Freibad: ,Mir nach!‘– ,Sag uns, ob Wasser im Becken ist!‘“. Am 9. Dezember 1991, am Vorabend der Tagung des Europäischen Rates in Maastricht witzelt der Karikaturist Horst Haitzinger über den Einsatz des deutschen Bundeskanzlers Helmut Kohl („Mir nach!“) für die Wirtschafts- und Währungsunion (WWU) und den Vertrag über die Europäische Union. Der französische Staatspräsident François Mitterrand scheint als zweiter in der Reihe den Sprung nicht recht wagen zu wollen („Sag uns, ob Wasser im Becken ist“), während der britische Premierminister John Major im Begriff ist, den Sprungturm zu verlassen.

‘The Euro-bicycle: no sooner sat on it than the cyclist notices that he is riding uphill …’ On 14 December 1991, the German cartoonist, Ernst Maria Lang, takes an ironic look at the efforts made by the German Government to establish Economic and Monetary Union (EMU). In their enthusiasm, the German Chancellor, Helmut Kohl (left), Theo Waigel, German Finance Minister (centre), and Hans-Dietrich Genscher, Minister for Foreign Affairs (right), seem not to have realised that the rear wheel (social policy and security) is too small compared with the front wheel of monetary union.

Am 10. Dezember 1991 gibt der niederländische Ministerpräsident und amtierende Vorsitzende im Rat der Europäischen Gemeinschaften Ruud Lubbers nach dem Europäischen Gipfel von Maastricht eine Pressekonferenz, auf der er versichert, dass die einheitliche europäische Währung noch vor Ende des zwanzigsten Jahrhunderts realisiert werden wird.