LISBON TREATY SIGNING

Commission welcomes signature of the Treaty of Lisbon and calls for its swift ratification. DEC 13,07

Marking an important step in European integration, the 27 Member States have today signed the Treaty of Lisbon. This marks a new phase in providing the Union with a new treaty to respond to the challenges of the 21st century. The Commission believes that the new treaty provides significant new benefits for citizens and will settle the institutional debate for the foreseeable future. In line with the Barroso Commission's twin track approach this will allow for a greater emphasis on the issues of concern to citizens such as jobs and growth, energy and climate change and migration. The Commission calls on Member States to ratify the treaty in good time for its entry into force on 1 January 2009.

The Commission has today launched a website on the Treaty that explains in an easy to read way the policy innovations and institutional reforms contained in the new Treaty President of the European Commission, José Manuel Barroso said, This treaty marks a watershed in the history of European integration. The Treaty of Lisbon puts citizens at the centre of the European project. After six long years of negotiation we can put institutional issues aside and concentrate all our energy on delivering policy achievements for our citizens. I call on the Member States to honour their commitments and seek to ratify the treaty in good time for its entry into force on 1 January 2009.

This new Treaty is good for European citizens, said Commission Vice-President Margot Wallström, responsible for Institutional Relations and Communication Strategy. It will enhance efficiency and give the Union a single voice in external relations. People will have a greater say in European policies through the reinforced powers of their directly elected representatives in the European Parliament and the enhanced role of National parliaments. The new Citizens' initiative will allow a million citizens to ask the Commission to present a proposal. More democracy is fundamental for a Union based on citizens' consent and will help to restore confidence and trust in the European integration process.

The Treaty of Lisbon amends the current EU and EC treaties, without replacing them. It will provide the Union with the legal framework and tools necessary to meet future challenges and to respond to citizens' demands.The Treaty of Lisbon will bring many benefits: the new treaty will ensure European citizens have their say in European affairs and see their fundamental rights set out in a charter. The EU will be better equipped to meet expectations in the fields of energy, clime change, cross-border crime and immigration. It will also be able to speak with one voice on the international scene.

Among key planned improvements are:

a more democratic and open and accountable Union – both citizens and national parliaments will see decisions taken first hand as lawmaking discussions open up to public scrutiny. Europeans will be given the opportunity to influence proposed EU laws. a more effective Union – through effective and streamlined institutions. Including swifter, more consistent decision-making on law and order issues, giving the EU greater ability to combat crime, terrorism and human trafficking.more rights for Europeans – the EU's values and goals will be set down more clearly than ever before. And the charter of fundamental rights will be given the same legal status as the EU treaties themselves.a more prominent global actor – the EU will seek more coherence between the different strands of its external policy, such as diplomacy, security, trade and humanitarian aid. And the bloc will be given a single legal personality to strengthen its negotiating power.These improvements give the Union the capacity to deliver change, to make Europeans more secure and prosperous and to open up their opportunities to shape globalisation.

Background

The Treaty of Lisbon, drawn up by the 2007 Intergovernmental Conference (IGC), was approved at the informal European Council on 18-19 October and will be signed by the Member States on 13 December 2007. The signature of the Treaty will be followed by the ratification process in all 27 countries. It is hoped that the new Treaty will come into force on 1 January 2009.

he new website provides user friendly and easy-to-read information in all 23 official EU languages. On its pages, readers can discover how the new Treaty will enable the EU to tackle the challenges of today's world and to promote more efficiency, democracy and transparency within its institutions. Answers to the most frequently asked questions are also available, accompanied by fact sheets explaining theme-by-theme the main changes brought about by the Treaty.Visit the Commission's new Treaty of Lisbon website at:http://europa.eu/lisbon_treaty

Speech by the Prime-Minister of Portugal and President of the European Council at the signing ceremony of the Treaty of Lisbon Date: 2007-12-13

Speech by José Sócrates at the signing ceremony of the Treaty of Lisbon (pdf format)

Honourable Heads of State and of Government, dear colleagues
Mr. President of the European Parliament
Mr. President of the European Commission
Ministers for Foreign Affairs
Mr. President of the Assembly of the Republic
Dear colleagues from the Government and dear Luís Amado, Minister of State and Foreign Affairs
Mr. Mayor of Lisbon Town Hall
Distinguished guests

Today we sign the Treaty of Lisbon. And the idea that motivates us in this ceremony for the signature is quite simple: to advance the European project. A project that has always been generous in its purposes and ambitious in its objectives. A project that has proven to be at the service of peace, development and the affirmation of the values we share.

It was this project of European construction that many generations dreamed of and others before us erected, with a sense and a vision of the future. But it is this project that we want, today, to take further, reinforce and develop. And that is what the people of Europe, those we represent here, expect from us.

Today we need a stronger Union. Stronger to respond to the longings of the European citizens, to promote the European economy and defend European values. But a more ambitious Europe is also the most important contribution we can give to a better world.

Perhaps History will not mention the words that will be uttered in this ceremony. But I am certain of one thing: what we are doing here is already part of History. History will remember this day as a day when new paths of hope were opened to the European ideal.

With the Treaty of Lisbon Europe finally overcomes the political and institutional impasse that limited its capacity to act during the last few years. The overcoming of that impasse started when, facing doubts and uncertainties, the Trio of Presidencies – German, Portuguese and Slovenian – undertook as a priority the elaboration of a new Treaty.

It is only right to recognise, also, that this process was successful just because, at the right time, relied on the engagement of Chancellor Angela Merkel, who reached a mandate without which it would not have been possible to follow through this path.

During all this process we could rely on the European Commission. I wish to thank the President of the Commission, Mr. Durão Barroso, all the help he gave the Portuguese presidency to conclude this Treaty.

I also thank the President of the European Parliament, Hans-Gert Pöttering and the Parliamentary Groups the support they always gave us during the difficult negotiations that preceded this agreement.

But what truly brought about the achieved result in the Lisbon Summit, what really carried us to the Treaty we are signing here today, was the political will of all the European leaders and the trust they always displayed in the development of the European project.

The Treaty of Lisbon meets a central challenge. The challenge of European citizenship. Yesterday, in Strasbourg, the Council, the Commission and the Parliament adopted the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union. This Treaty of Lisbon recognises the full legal value of this Charter. Here we reaffirm our compromise with the identity values of the European project. Democratic legality, respect for fundamental rights, communitarian freedoms, equal opportunities, solidarity, access to justice, respect for the pluralism and diversity of our societies. These were the values that inspired the founding fathers of the European project and that we proudly reaffirm here today.

The European project is a project founded on the equality among States, mutual respect, close cooperation and tolerance. The European project does not eliminate nor minimise national identities, nor the States’ specific interests; rather, it offers a multilateral framework of regulation from which benefits can be drawn for the whole and for each of the parts that participate in the project. This is the reason why the project of the European political and economic Union is still a source of inspiration for other continents and a reference guide for a world in need of institutions, principles and rules that are capable of contributing for a regulation on a global scale.

But this Treaty also meets the challenge of improving efficiency in the decision process. During these fifty years, we always knew that the European project becomes legitimate through its results. And only a Europe that is capable of deciding will be a Europe that is capable of getting results. In a world of accelerated change, in a global economy that is ever more demanding, it is absolutely imperative and urgent to adopt institutional reforms that allow Europe to meet the challenges it is facing.

Europe wants to be an open economy, which faces the challenge of global competitiveness. Which bets on Europeans’ qualifications, research and innovation. Which bets on an economic growth that creates jobs and is friendly to the environment and also bets on a more efficient energy policy that is capable of fighting against climate change.

In all these areas the Treaty of Lisbon speeds up the decision processes, increases the number of decisions by qualified majority, extends the conditions of democratic participation in the European Parliament, reinforces the role of our national parliaments and safeguards the central position of the European Commission and the European judicial system.

But the Treaty of Lisbon also defines a new institutional architecture: the new permanent president of the European Council; the High Representative for external affairs and defence; the new composition of the Commission and the reinforcement of its democratic legitimacy; the new system of weighting of votes in the Council. These changes represent a new equilibrium among States and offer an improvement in the functioning of the institutions, guaranteeing new conditions for Europe to assert its voice, its economy and its values.

The Treaty of Lisbon includes the best in the tradition and heritage of the European project but is not a Treaty for the past; it is a Treaty for the future. It is a Treaty for the construction of a more modern, efficient and democratic Europe.

Ladies and Gentlemen

For us Portuguese, this ceremony represents a return to the Jerónimos Monastery. It was here that, in 1985, Portugal signed the Accession Treaty to the European project. It was here that Portugal became a part of the European family.

I want you to know that it is an honour for my country the fact that it is precisely here, in the same place, that we sign the new Treaty for the future of Europe. And it is an even greater honour the fact that this Treaty shall be known by the name of Lisbon, a city where the 27 Member States sealed their agreement.

Lisbon has always been a city of openness and a meeting point. Its history is also the history of the discoveries, which this moment evokes. With the Treaty of Lisbon this city will also be linked to the history of the European construction.

This Treaty, however, is not the end of History. There will always be more History to be written. But this Treaty is a new moment in the European adventure and of the European future. And we face this future with the same spirit we always had: certain of our values, confident in our project, strengthened in our Union.

Thank you.

Taking Europe into the 21st century DEC 13,07

Europe is not the same place it was 50 years ago, and nor is the rest of the world.

In a constantly changing, ever more interconnected world, Europe is grappling with new issues: globalisation, demographic shifts, climate change, the need for sustainable energy sources and new security threats. These are the challenges facing Europe in the 21st century.

Borders count for very little in the light of these challenges. The EU countries cannot meet them alone. But acting as one, Europe can deliver results and respond to the concerns of the public. For this, Europe needs to modernise. The EU has recently expanded from 15 to 27 members; it needs effective, coherent tools so it can function properly and respond to the rapid changes in the world. That means rethinking some of the ground rules for working together.

The new Treaty of Lisbon sets out to do just that. When European leaders reached agreement on the new rules on 18 October 2007, they were thinking of the political, economic and social changes going on, and the need to live up to the hopes and expectations of the European public. They agreed on a treaty that will define what the EU can and cannot do, and what means it can use. It will alter the structure of the EU’s institutions and how they work. As a result, the EU will be more democratic and its core values will be better served.

This new treaty is the result of negotiations between EU member countries in an intergovernmental conference. The Commission and Parliament were also involved. After the official signing on 13 December 2007, the treaty will still not apply until and unless it is ratified by each of the EU’s 27 members. It is up to each country to choose the procedure for ratification, in line with its own national constitution.

The target date for ratification set by member governments is 1 January 2009 – some months before the elections to the European Parliament.

TO WATCH THE LIVE CEREMONY OF THE TREATY SIGNING WATCH HERE
http://www.eu2007.pt/UE/vEN/Media/Galeria_Video/