October 8, 2011
The old Dutch town of Maastricht thinks of itself as a most European city. Spanning the River Meuse at the junction of Europe’s Dutch, German and French-language zones, it is closer to Cologne and Brussels than to Amsterdam. Legend says that the double staircase of its town hall was made to give equal access to the two lords—the prince-bishops of Liège and the dukes of Brabant—who for centuries jointly ruled the city.
In modern times Maastricht is best known as the birthplace of the euro. The city gave its name to the European treaty that was negotiated there two decades ago, transforming the then European Economic Community into the European Union, and starting the process of creating a single currency.
Surrounded by grand 17th-century painted-leather wall coverings, the mayor of Maastricht, Onno Hoes, is grappling with a problem: how to mark the anniversary of a treaty that put his city on the map, when the euro could yet break up? Indeed, how to celebrate European integration when the Netherlands itself seems so disenchanted with it? “There won’t be fireworks” but there could be an exhibition, says Mr Hoes, a euro-supporter. Or maybe Maastricht could reunite the euro’s founders “to tell us what they think, now that they are free to talk.”
The signatures of Helmut Kohl, François Mitterrand and the other leaders of the time can be found scrawled in charcoal in the wine cellar at Château Neercanne, where they had lunch on December 9th 1991. One person who worked in the restaurant on the day mutters: “I’ve never agreed with the euro.” Indeed, over the years the Netherlands has moved from a cosy pro-EU consensus to a sceptical, even antagonistic stance. In Brussels these days it is the Dutch, not the troublesome British, who often block deals.
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