Which treaty is known for expanding European integration and laying groundwork for a common currency framework?

• A. Treaty of Amsterdam
• B. Treaty of Maastricht
• C. Treaty of Paris
• D. Treaty of Lisbon

Answer: (B)

The Maastricht Treaty is the one that expanded European integration and set up the framework for a common currency. It created the European Union and introduced a plan for Economic and Monetary Union, including the criteria countries must meet to adopt the euro. Those convergence rules cover things like price stability, sustainable public finances, and exchange-rate stability, plus long-term interest rate alignment. In short, it formalized closer integration across policy areas and laid the monetary groundwork that eventually led to the euro. The other treaties focused on different steps in Europe's institutional development (for example, the Paris treaty established broader economic cooperation early on), but they did not establish the formal path to a single currency in the way Maastricht did.