On November 1, 1993, the Maastricht Treaty came into force and formally created the European Union, History.com and the European Parliament say.

Delegates from the European Community drafted the treaty in 1991 at a meeting in Maastricht, in the Netherlands, History.com says. The treaty was signed there on February 7, 1992, according to a European Parliament fact sheet.

The treaty called for a stronger European Parliament, a central European bank, and shared foreign and security policies, History.com says. It also laid the groundwork for a single European currency, which came to be known as the euro.

The European Parliament's fact sheet says the treaty built the new Union on three "pillars." The first was the existing European Communities. The second was a common foreign and security policy. The third was cooperation on justice and home affairs, such as police work, borders and asylum.

The fact sheet calls the treaty a new step toward "an ever-closer union among the peoples of Europe." It says the treaty set up the European Central Bank and a system of central banks. It also created the Committee of the Regions as an advisory body.

By 1993, 12 nations had approved the treaty, History.com says. They were Great Britain, France, Germany, Ireland, Spain, Portugal, Italy, Greece, Denmark, Luxembourg, Belgium and the Netherlands. Austria, Finland and Sweden joined the EU in 1995.

After centuries of bloody wars, the nations of Western Europe were finally joined together in a spirit of economic cooperation, History.com says. Decades later, in 2016, the United Kingdom voted to leave the European Union in what became known as Brexit.

What we know: The Maastricht Treaty created the European Union on November 1, 1993.
What we don't: Nothing major is in dispute about this date in history.