On February 7, 1992, senior politicians from around Europe gathered in the small Dutch town of Maastricht. With a band playing and shutters clicking from banks of photographers lined up on each side, they made their way into a relatively anonymous provincial government building… but what was being signed inside would shape the lives of millions.

One by one, representatives from the 12 member states signed the Treaty on European Union, commonly known as the Maastricht Treaty. It was the culmination of years of work and negotiations aimed at building on previous agreements.

Jacques Delors was the European Commission President. Speaking in 1992, he addressed what the treaty meant, and what it would lead to: "The directions are clearly traced towards the economic and monetary union, to complete the creation of the common economic and monetary space, towards political union, in particular to strengthen the impact of the community through the progressive implementation of the common foreign and security policy."

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When the treaty came into force in 1993, it marked the official start of the European Union. Decades and centuries of border checks and trade restrictions ended, as millions were able to take advantage of a more united Europe, just months after the end of the Cold War.

Alberto Alemanno from the HEC Business School in Paris told CGTN: "It was the moment in which the countries of Europe decided to come closer in their ambitions of integration, and by showing that it was possible to not only get their economic integration, but to push cooperation on those matters that tend to be more sovereign – meaning currency, internal affairs, migration, free movement, security and justice."

Although the bloc was initially only made up of 12 member states, expansion followed... as did the euro currency, and greater ties across the continent. But 28 years after then UK foreign secretary Douglas Hurd signed the treaty, the UK became the first country to leave.

And 30 years on, the EU faces substantial challenges. It's trying to rebuild economies devastated by the pandemic, address inequalities between member states and tackle the ongoing migrant crisis, as well as define its role as tensions escalate between Russia and Ukraine.

With so much going on in the present, the lack of events to mark the anniversary of the treaty suggests there's not much time to stop and reminisce about the past.