On the 30th anniversary of the signing of the Maastricht Treaty, the Co-Chairmen of the European Conservatives and Reformists Group, Polish Ryszard Legutko and Italian Raffaele Fitto, pay tribute to the 1992 agreement that brought the European community of states the free movement of people and goods and services in a common market. However, the two leaders of the "Eurorealists" in the European Parliament remain critical of the continued shifting of Member States' competencies to the level of the European Union, underlining the need to hold socio-political value discussions via majorities established in the European Parliament.

Prof Legutko said:

“Europe promised to become the area of freedom for peoples and their economies, which is why many more countries have joined this project it since the Maastricht Treaty was signed. Today we are in danger of breaking that promise. The European Union has already gone too far in some areas. It has become too centralised and inflexible, it has the ambition to impose highly controversial values uniformly on some national cultures, and it is not close enough to the citizens of the Member States. There is a danger that the peoples within the Union will be played off against each other. This risk must be countered accordingly by greater respect for the sovereignty of our national democracies, in which the will of the large and small peoples of Europe is expressed.”

Fitto added:

“The Maastricht Treaty was a great achievement, bringing the peoples of Europe and their economies closer together for the benefit of everyone. Today, we see a need to reform again. The status quo is not an option. Some argue that the solution is more Europe, others that the solution is no Europe. However, we believe that neither federalist fundamentalists nor anti-Europe abolitionists offer real solutions to the problems facing Europe today. We should work towards a more flexible community of nations working together in common institutions in areas where they have common interests that can best be advanced through cooperation. We should recognise that the democratic legitimacy of the Union comes first and foremost from the Member States and that the concepts of subsidiarity, proportionality and conferral must be fully respected.”