HL Deb 28 April 1994 vol 554 c47WA
Lord Pearson of Rannoch

asked Her Majesty's Government:

Whether they agree with the conclusion of the European Commission in their recent publication Europe on the Move that "the European Community is now steering a steady course towards European Union".

The Minister of State, Foreign and Commonwealth Office (Baroness Chalker of Wallasey)

The Maastricht Treaty, which came into force on 1st November 1993, established the European Union. The European Communities are one of the three pillars of the European Union. The concepts of Community and Union are distinct and it would be wrong to suggest that the Community is being transformed into the Union.