Treaty of Lisbon Amending the Treaty on European Union and the Treaty Establishing the European Community

On 13 December 2007, the Heads of State and Government of the EU's twenty-seven Member States gathered in the Mosteiro dos Jerónimos in Belém, Lisbon, to sign the Reform Treaty, which, in the tradition of international treaties, shall bear the name of the Portuguese capital and shall be known as the Treaty of Lisbon.

The Treaty is to be the last institutional reform adopted by the European Union for some time, designed to prepare the EU and its Member States to collectively face future challenges, such as international terrorism and trans-border criminality, climate change, energy and food security, global poverty and stimulating growth and innovation in the Union's economy.

The most prominent innovations of the Treaty of Lisbon are arguably the scrapping of the pillar system, reduced chances of stalemate in the EU Council through more qualified majority voting, a more powerful European Parliament through extended codecision with the EU Council, as well as new tools for more coherent policies, such as a long-term President of the European Council and a High Representative for Foreign Affairs.

The Treaty of Lisbon is scheduled to be ratified in all Member States by the end of 2008, in time for the 2009 European elections.

The Treaty of Lisbon is a series of amendments to the Treaty on European Union (Maastricht) and the Treaty establishing the European Community (Rome), the latter being renamed 'Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union'. It consists solely of cross-references amending the existing treaties, and is not intended to be a normal text in itself, in contrast to the European Constitution which was a single readable document.

With regard to the institutional clauses, (part 1 of the "Constitution"), the Lisbon Treaty bears the following clauses:

− the Union becomes a legal entity;

− the three pillars are merged together;

− a new rule of double majority is introduced;

− affirmation of the codecision rule between the European Parliament and the Council of Ministers as the ordinary legislative procedure;

− a stable presidency of the European Council (for a duration of 2 and a half years), renewable once;

− creation of one position: " High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy";

− right of citizens' initiative;

− enhancement of democratic participation, etc.

Thanks to its institutional innovations the Lisbon Treaty make it possible to reform the institutions of the enlarged Union and to Come out of the institutional stalemate which the Union has been in for the last two years.

The European Commission maintains a central role. It has the entire monopoly over the initiative to legislate which provides its with major political importance. After the Lisbon Treaty has entered force the first Commission to be sworn in (2009-2014) will comprise, as today, a Commissioner from each Member State.

The European Council represents the Heads of State and Government of the Member States of the European Union. The most important innovation lies in the creation of a stable presidency. Like the European Parliament and the Commission, the European Council will have a full time president who will not be able to assume a national mandate. He will be elected by qualified majority by the European Council for two and a half years (renewable once).

The Lisbon Treaty institutes a High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy. This provides greater coherence and unity to the European Union's external action.