EU leaders sign Revised Rome Treaty
Pastor Dale Morgan
*EU leaders sign Revised Rome Treaty*
EU leaders sign the Revised Treaty in Jeronimos monastery, Lisbon
The treaty was signed at Lisbon's historic Jeronimos monastery
EU leaders have signed a revised version of the Old Treaty of Rome in
the Portuguese capital, Lisbon, that is expected to greatly alter the
way the 27-nation body operates.
The treaty creates an EU president and a more powerful foreign policy chief.
The document, signed at a ceremony at the city's historic Jeronimos
Monastery, also scraps veto powers in many policy areas.
It is a replacement for the EU constitution, which was abandoned
following French and Dutch opposition.
EU leaders insist that the two texts are in no way equivalent.
But the Revised Rome treaty incorporates some of the draft
constitution's key reforms, and several governments face domestic
pressure over the document.
KEY REVISED ROME TREATY REFORMS
Creates new European Council president
New foreign policy supremo to increase EU profile
Commissioners reduced from 27 to 18
Removes national vetoes in around 50 policy areas
Voting weights between member states redistributed
No reference to EU symbols such as the flag and anthem
Treaty faces referendum in Ireland and must be ratified by all other EU
parliaments
In a speech before the signing, European Commission President Jose
Manuel Barroso called on European leaders to use the treaty to make
freedom, prosperity and solidarity an everyday reality for all European
citizens.
"From this old continent, a new Europe is born," he said.
Portuguese Prime Minister Jose Socrates, whose country holds the
rotating EU presidency, said the treaty would create a more modern,
efficient and democratic union.
"The world needs a stronger Europe," he said.
The leaders signed the treaty, translated into the EU's 23 official
languages, using specially engraved silver fountain pens as a choir sang
Beethoven's Ode to Joy.
UK signing
UK Prime Minister Gordon Brown signed the treaty later in the day after
missing the ceremony, citing a prior engagement in the British parliament.
The UK's opposition Conservatives accused Mr Brown of "not having the
guts" to sign the treaty, which is politically controversial in Britain,
in public.
Having started this year with a celebration of its 50th birthday, the EU
hopes the signing of the new Rome treaty will end the serious mid-life
crisis brought about by the death of the constitution, the BBC's Oana
Lungescu reports.
There will be a lot of relief, said a senior European diplomat, but also
some apprehension about what happens next.
Ireland is the only country planning to hold a referendum, but most
voters there seem either undecided or indifferent.
Parliaments in Britain, the Netherlands and Denmark are also expected to
give a turbulent reception to the 250-page text.
However, Germany, France and Poland have pledged to be among the first
to ratify it, so that the new reforms can come into force in 2009 as
planned.
The treaty is a slimmed-down version of the European constitution, with
a more modest name and without any reference to EU symbols such as the
flag and anthem.
It is meant to ease decision-making, by scrapping national vetoes in
some 50 policy areas, including sensitive ones such as police and
judicial co-operation.
There will also be a foreign policy chief, controlling a big budget and
thousands of diplomats and officials, and a permanent EU president
appointed for up to five years.
But some already fear that instead of giving Europe a strong single
voice in the world, the new posts will only generate more rivalry, our
correspondent adds.