Mikhail Gorbachev came to power in the USSR, and brought two new words into everyday speech: perestroika (restructuring) and glasnost (openness). From behind the Iron Curtain, dissident and protest movements — like Solidarity in Poland or the Candle demonstration in Czechoslovakia — started drawing increased public support. With change in Moscow, Eastern and Central Europe, it was clear that the power structure was shifting. Germans living in East Germany, under communist rule, demanded unhindered access to the democratic West Germany. In November 1989, the Berlin Wall, a physical division at the heart of Europe, fell.

The fall of the wall, and the German desire for reunification, raised questions about the future of Europe. In only a few months Germany would be reunited, a major political achievement. At the same time, other links were being created, as the Channel Tunnel was completed and the UK became physically joined to the continent. Against the backdrop of these changes, and wider upheavals across the globe, the leaders of the 12 countries in the European Community gathered in Maastricht to answer a simple but far-reaching question: What, in this changing world, was the future role of Europe?

The signature of the new treaty was a rather low-key event. But looking back, we can see that many of the changes shaping the EU, in the 30 years since, have their origins in that meeting.