European Union - Delegation of the European Union to Japan

The Treaty of Lisbon, officially signed by the Heads of the Member States on 13 December 2007, entered into force on 1 December 2009.

The European Council gathering in Brussels that ended in the early hours of 23 June, 2007 brought fresh impetus to the EU reform process following the impasse over the European Constitution brought about by 'no' votes in France and the Netherlands in 2005.

The EU leaders found solutions to a number of difficult issues. The new text will make the Charter of Fundamental Rights legally binding. The EU will have a High Representative for foreign affairs and security policy and a permanent president; other achievements include an increased role for national parliaments and a reduced number of Commissioners from 2014. 

The 'no' votes cast by France and the Netherlands in 2005 have been heeded. An intergovernmental conference will now work out the ways in which existing treaties need amending to make a much bigger EU more efficient and democratically accountable at home and more effective in the world. A text is expected by the end of 2007.

European Commission President Barroso welcomed the result, saying “reaching an agreement was a credibility test for the Union. This reform treaty proves that Europe has the capability to act.”

As of January 2009, the Treaty had been ratified by 25 countries:
Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Cyprus, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, The Netherlands and the United Kingdom. In October Ireland's referendum gave a "yes", and in November the Czech president signed the Lisbon Treaty, clearing the way for its start on December 1st 2009.