Was the Treaty of Maastricht essentially about finding a sustainable answer to the German question?

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The Treaty of the European Union, that was signed in Maastricht in February 1992 and entered into force in November 1993, states that "This Treaty marks a new stage in the process of creating an ever closer union among the peoples of Europe?. The Treaty of Maastricht represents an attempt to reconcile the economic union with the political union, with the final objective of strengthening the European Integration. The question of the motives of this key treaty arises, as it was created during one of the most important period in the history of European Integration, the early 1990s. Indeed, Jacques Delors, who was the Commission President between 1985 and 1995, talked about an "acceleration of history". At that time, many historical events, such as the Collapse of the Soviet Union, transformed the world and the geopolitical context in an unprecedented way. These events also had an impact on the Integration of the European Community.

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[...] This strategy of “containement” would not only tie Germany closer to the European Community, but would also let France regain some control over the system, and therefore over Europe. The enthusiasm about the Treaty of Maastricht, deepening the integration, can therefore be understood mainly thanks to political reasons. The reunification of Germany also arose concern about the borders of Europe, as the German Democratic Republic the East Germany, had to be inserted in the Community[6]. The question of new integration is very important as some Europeans feared that a very heterogeneous and fragmented Europe would lead to a “multispeed” Europe, Europe à deux vitesses”. [...]

[...] Thus, all of these changes and the birth of European Union were not created just in order to deal with the new German power, but rather to make a major step towards a closer European Union. Indeed, Helmut Kohl said in 1992: European Union Treaty, within a few years, will lead to the creation of what the founding fathers of modern Europe dreamed of after the war, the United States of Europe.” Finally, it is plain to see that the German reunification had a huge impact on the European Community as it brought new consideration of political aspects. [...]

[...] Europe after Maastricht, Beck Krause, A., Inside the New Europe. Harper Collins Articles Baun M. J., The Maastricht Treaty as High Politics, in Political Science Quarterly, 1955-1996, Vol No Barrot J., Le coeur et la raison : la force de dire oui, in Revue Politique et Parlementaire, 94e année, 960, Juillet/Août 1992, page 3 Gaubatz K. T., Maastricht and Motivations: Toward an empirical understanding of the motivations for European integration, Old Dominion University–Norfolk Panarella A., The Maastricht Treaty and the Economic and Monetary Union, Leuven University Press Schwarz H. [...]

[...] First of all, it is plain to see that the Treaty of Maastricht represented an essential way to tackle the German question. Indeed, the power of Germany was seen as a threat for other European countries as the unified Germany represented 25% of the European Community GDP[2] and was therefore the largest economy in Europe. Moreover, its new population constituted 25% of all the European Community residents. Some countries feared a resurgence of nationalism as a united and therefore more powerful Germany could try to become more independent and leave the path of peaceful European integration[3]. [...]

[...] However, there are other explanations of the Treaty of Maastricht, which must not be forgotten in order to fully understand why the Treaty was created. To begin with, as Ian Bache and Stephen George explained in their study on the European Union, ‘acceleration of history' did not dramatically change the agenda of the IGCs[12] that were already scheduled” [13]. Thus, even if the German reunification certainly did play a role in Maastricht, the development of the European integration have a long history and the previous treaties such as the Treaty of Rome were stepping stones towards a deeper integration. [...]