Heads of state and government of the European Union (EU) member
states on Thursday signed the Lisbon Treaty, which they hope can
make decision-making more efficient.
Belgian Prime Minister Guy Verhofstadt was the first leader to
put his name on the treaty.
In a speech prior to the signing, Portuguese Prime Minister Jose
Socrates, whose country holds the EU presidency, said the treaty
will take the European project one step further and make the EU
stronger.
"This is not a treaty for the past. This is a treaty for the
future, a treaty that will make Europe more modern, more efficient
and more democratic," he told other leaders in the magnificent
Jeronimos Monastery on the Tagus River.
"We need a stronger union, stronger to meet the concerns of the
citizens, stronger to promote the economy of Europe, and stronger
to defend European values."
He said the treaty will also create conditions for the EU to
have its voice heard in the world. "A more ambitious Europe is also
the most important contribution that we can make today to a better
world, because the world needs a strong Europe."
European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso said: "From
the old continent, a new Europe is born."
With this treaty, the EU is preparing itself to serve its
citizens better and address global issues, he said.
The treaty will reinforce the EU's capacity to act and the
ability to achieve internal and external goals in an effective way,
he said.
"It is the treaty of an enlarged Europe from the Mediterranean
to the Baltic, from the Atlantic Ocean to the Black Sea," he
said.
"For the first time, the countries that were once divided by a
totalitarian curtain, are now united in support of a common treaty
that they had themselves negotiated."
Barroso said the enlarged union gives new economic, political
and strategic dimension to its member states.
Notably, British Prime Minister Gordon Brown was the only head
of state or government that was absent from the signing
ceremony.
While the treaty was signed by two representatives -- three in
the case of France -- in other member states, British Foreign
Secretary David Miliband showed up alone at the ceremony.
Brown would arrived several hours late and put his name on the
treaty separately. Brown was delayed by his appearance before a
parliamentary committee.
Brown's unique arrangement had prompted criticism by the
opposition Conservative Party, which had said Brown did not have
the guts to sign the treaty in public, according to British media
reports.
Brown faces enormous pressure to call a referendum on the text.
His predecessor Tony Blair had promised a referendum on the EU
Constitution. The referendum was scrapped after the constitution
was vetoed by French and Dutch voters in 2005.
The Lisbon Treaty, which replaces the failed EU Constitution,
provides for far-reaching changes in EU's institutions and decision
making mechanisms.
It creates the post of a long-term president of the European
Council, which comprises heads of state and government of the
member states, in place of the current six-month rotation between
member states.
The European Commission, the EU's executive body, will be
downsized, with the total number of commissioners to be two-thirds
of member states. Currently, each of the 27 member states appoints
a member to the commission. The commission's president will have
more powers though.
A new post of EU foreign policy chief will be created, which
combines the duties of present foreign policy chief Javier Solana
and EU External Relations Commissioner Benita Ferrero-Waldner.
To make decision making more effective, a double majority voting
system -- approval by at least 55 percent of the number of member
states representing at least 65 percent of EU's total population --
is introduced to the Council of the EU, a decision-making body
composed of member states' ministers.
While unanimity is still required in certain areas, more policy
areas will be governed by the double majority voting system,
notably in justice and home affairs.
The treaty for the first time contains a clause to allow a
member state to leave the union. It also creates a legal
personality for the EU.
The treaty must now be ratified by each and every member states.
Leaders hope that ratification can complete during 2008 so that it
can enter into force in 2009, just in time for new elections in the
European Parliament.
Up to now, Ireland is the only country that has announced a
referendum for the text of the treaty, giving hopes that it may not
repeat the path of the EU Constitution, which was rejected in
French and Dutch referendums.
Irish voters, however, face great pressure as euroskeptics from
across Europe are expected to flock to the island in order to
campaign for a NO, an analyst has said.
(Xinhua News Agency December 14, 2007)
