European Union (EU) leaders reached an agreement on the landmark
reform treaty early Friday, laying foundations to reform the
27-nation bloc.
"The Lisbon summit has achieved an agreement on a new treaty for
Europe's future," Portuguese Prime Minister Jose Socrates, whose
country holds the EU presidency, told reporters after marathon
talks dragging into midnight.
The so-called reform treaty will soon obtain its formal name as
Lisbon Treaty as EU leaders will officially sign it in Portuguese
capital Lisbon at their next summit scheduled for Decmeber 13.
It is designed to replace the defunct Constitution Treaty
rejected by French and Dutch voters in 2005, aiming to streamline
the EU's decision-making mechanism in face of a globalized world
and an enlarged bloc.
Describing the deal as a victory for Europe, Socrates said the
EU now managed to get out of an institutional crisis which lasted
around six years.
"We no longer have an institutional crisis. We are going to be
ready to tackle the challenges of the future," he said at a joint
press conference with European Commission President Jose
Barroso.
Calling the treaty "a great achievement," Barroso said, "I
believe we have a treaty that will give us now the capacity to
act."
Among other institutional changes, the reform treaty installs a
new foreign policy chief for the EU and a long-term president for
the European Council to replace the current six-month rotating
presidency, but it avoids any mentioning which may implicate a
constitutional nature, such as EU symbols -- the flag, the anthem
and the motto.
It also introduces the double majority voting system in
decision-making, reduces the size of the executive European
Commission, and gives national parliaments more power.
The deal was possible after last-minute concessions were made to
some aggressive demanders, notably Poland and Italy.
Poland threatened to veto the treaty unless the so-called
"Ioannina" mechanism, which allows a minority group of states
disagreeing with a resolution to freeze it for a considerable
period of time, was written into the new treaty, claiming the
double majority voting system envisaged in the treaty would give
bigger member states more leverage than before.
The double majority voting system requires at least 55 percent
of the number of member states representing 65 percent of the EU's
total population to make a decision at the Council of the EU, a
decision-making body composed of member states' ministers.
Under a compromised arrangement, though there will be no
Ioannina clause in the treaty, the European Council, composed of 27
EU leaders, will adopt a declaration on the substance of the
Ioannina mechanism, making it legally binding. In addition, the
declaration will be attached with a protocol, which requires
consensus in any change to the Ioannina mechanism.
Another Polish demand, a permanent advocate general on the
European Court of Justice, was also satisfied.
"Poland has got everything it asked for," said Polish President
Lech Kaczynski after the talks.
Italy disagreed with the plan to redistribute EU parliamentary
seats. According to the new rules, Rome's seats in the European
Parliament should be cut from 78 to 72 in 2009, the biggest decline
among member states.
In concession to Italy, the EU leaders finally agreed to add one
more seat to the parliament, increasing the limit to 751 from the
originally planned 750.
"The new extra member will be for Italy," Socrates confirmed.
This will bring Italy's seats to the same number with Britain and
one less than France.
Austria, which complained about a big influx of German students
in its medical schools, demanded certain limits on foreign students
who could be enrolled in its universities. This issue was also
settled, the Portuguese presidency said earlier.
After signed in December, the EU reform treaty will be open for
national ratification. It is expected to enter into force on Jan.
1, 2009 before the elections to the European Parliament in the same
year.
Currently, an imminent test of the new treaty would be the call
in some countries for referendum. At the press conference, Socrates
shied away from saying whether his country will go to polls on the
treaty.
British Prime Minister Gordon Brown, in his debut show at an EU
summit as government leader, was facing tremendous pressure from
his countrymen to hold a referendum on the Reform Treaty, although
Britain negotiated complex opt-outs on police and judicial
cooperation and from the Charter of Fundamental Rights, which will
be given legally binding force by the treaty.
The late-night deal marked the end of the first-day meeting of
EU leaders, who opened a two-day informal summit here.
"Tomorrow, Friday, we will be beginning to discuss the external
dimension of the Lisbon Agenda. We will be discussing preparing
Europe for the future," Socrates said when it was actually already
in the early hours of Friday.
The Lisbon Agenda, set out by EU leaders also in Lisbon in March
2000, was originally aimed at making the EU the most competitive
economy in the world and achieving full employment by 2010.
Its goals were later lowered to the achievement of stronger,
lasting growth and the creation of more and better jobs after the
previous ambition was proved too aggressive.
On the second day, Barroso was invited to give a key-note
presentation, helping structure discussions with focus on two
specific subjects, namely the recent financial turmoil and climate
change, Socrates said in its invitation letter to his counterparts
ahead of the summit.
(Xinhua News Agency October 19, 2007)
