Opting out of the Social Chapter of the Maastricht Agreement
The Maastricht Agreement was made in December 1991 by the leaders of the 12 member states of the European Union and contained clauses on political union, economic and monetary union and social policy. The Social Chapter put forward minimum requirements for EU members and was an attempt to introduce measures which would harmonise social policies across Europe. These included the minimum wage, the length of the working week and health and safety legislation. The Maastricht Treaty was agreed by Parliament with opt-outs from the Social Chapter