The Maastricht Treaty is ten year old. Its fiscal rules played a key role in kick starting and sustaining the budgetary retrenchment efforts in European Union countries in the run up to EMU. The experience of the Maastricht-induced fiscal consolidation shows that the political economy dimension of the rules is key for their success. It remains to be seen whether the Stability and Growth Pact, which complements the Treaty, aims at locking EMU members into a fiscal discipline commitment while allowing for flexibility to cushion cyclical fluctuations. In order to succeed in this undertaking, EU governments and institutions have to bank on the political economy “drive” which made Maastricht a success while tackling a number of open issues in the implementation of the Pact.