The Three Pillars

The Treaty of Maastricht (1992) created the European Union as a single body of "three pillars". The pillars consist of the European Communities, Common Foreign and Security Policy and Cooperation in Justice and Home affairs. These pillars are seen as the three policy areas.

European Communities

Common Foreign and
Security Policy

Cooperation in Justice and Home Affairs

The first pillar is the oldest and most active entity of the Union.
It consists of the European Community (previously known as the European Economic Community (EEC)).
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The second pillar, which concerns common foreign and security policy,builds upon a tradition of loose informal cooperation in
foreign policy, called European Political Cooperation (EPC).
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The third pillar, which concerns justice and home affairs, was largely a new area of EU initiative at the time of the Maastricht Treaty. More...