On 3 October 1997, the day after the signing of the Treaty of Amsterdam by the Foreign Ministers of the Fifteen, the French daily newspaper Le Monde considers the shortcomings and weaknesses of the text.

On 6 October 1997, in the French daily newspaper Le Figaro, commenting on the signing of the Amsterdam Treaty by the Foreign Ministers of the Fifteen on 2 October, Michel Barnier, French Minister for European Affairs, expresses his disappointment at the impact of the Treaty and condemns the postponement of institutional reform.

On 5 March 1998, Klaus Kinkel, German Foreign Minister, outlines to the Bundestag the political and institutional implications of the Treaty of Amsterdam amending the Treaty on European Union, the Treaties establishing the European Communities and related acts.

In this interview, Jacques Santer, former President of the European Commission, describes the progress achieved with the Treaty of Amsterdam, which entered into force on 1 May 1999, as well as its shortcomings, particularly in the field of internal security.

In this interview, Jean-Jacques Kasel, Permanent Representative of Luxembourg to the Council of the European Communities, then to the Council of the European Union, from 1992 to 1998, outlines the difficulties that had to be overcome to finalise the Treaty of Amsterdam, signed on 2 October 1997.

In this interview, Hubert Védrine, former French Foreign Minister, discusses what he sees as the shortcomings in the Treaty of Amsterdam amending the Treaty on European Union, the Treaties establishing the European Communities and related acts, signed on 2 October 1997.

In October 1997, Cesidio Guazzaroni, former Director-General of Economic Affairs at the Italian Foreign Ministry and former European Commissioner, considers the Intergovernmental Conference (IGC) for the revision of the Treaty on European Union and identifies the weaknesses of the Treaty of Amsterdam.

En juillet 1997, Silvio Fagiolo, représentant du ministère italien des Affaires étrangères à la Conférence intergouvernementale (CIG) pour la révision du traité sur l'Union européenne, explique les dispositions du nouveau traité d’Amsterdam.

‘Buoyed up by Amsterdam.’ In 1997, cartoonist Fritz Behrendt takes an ironic look at the results of the Treaty of Amsterdam, deemed to be disappointing, and hopes that the introduction of the euro will provide the necessary impetus for European leaders to revive more ambitious projects. (From left to right: Tony Blair, British Prime Minister; Wim Kok, Netherlands Prime Minister; Jacques Santer, President of the European Commission; Helmut Kohl, German Chancellor; Lionel Jospin, French Prime Minister; and Jacques Chirac, French President.)

On 2 October 1997, as the signed copies of the Treaty of Amsterdam leave the Royal Palace, opponents demonstrate on the other side of Dam Square against the provisions in the treaty.