Brussel test EU leiders (en)

European capital tests EU-Leaders

In EU circles, Lisbon is no longer only synonymous with Portugal's capital city, but is perhaps more commonly associated with complex institutional issues of how the EU's work is to be organised. The journey of the Treaty of Lisbon has been long and lined with many obstacles and unexpected twists and turns. Today the EU heads of state and government are meeting in Brussels to discuss how the Treaty should be implemented in practice, as well as the state of play in the ratification process.

The Lisbon Treaty is one of the issues that will dominate the EU leaders' meeting in Brussels. The Treaty aims to make EU cooperation more efficient, open and democratic. The European Parliament will be given greater influence, at the same time as the national parliaments will be given a clearer role and more say in the EU's legislative process. Making decisions in the Council will also become simpler. Recently the Member States have been putting time and effort into examining how the Treaty can be implemented in practice when it finally enters into force.

“It has been an exciting journey with the Treaty, and I hope we are now seeing the beginning of the end of that journey", says Sweden's Minister for EU Affairs Cecilia Malmström i.

“I am convinced that the Treaty will lead to a more efficient and open EU. The Treaty issue can be seen as juridical and complex, but ultimately it is about improving the daily lives of the circa 500 million people and 20 million companies living and operating in the EU", says Ms Malmström.

One obstacle remains

The Irish people's ‘yes' to the Lisbon Treaty at the beginning of October was quickly followed by Polish and German signatures. Now all that remains is the green light from the Czech Republic before the Treaty can enter into force. Court proceedings are currently under way in the Czech Republic, where the country's constitutional court is examining whether the Treaty is compatible with the Czech Constitution. The court can deliver its verdict on 3 November at the earliest. At the same time, the Czech President has requested an exemption from the charter in the Treaty that addresses the fundamental rights of EU countries' citizens.

The issue will be discussed during the dinner that Swedish Prime Minister Fredrik Reinfeldt i is hosting this evening at the summit. The Presidency has been in discussion with the Czech Republic and the other EU Member States ahead of the European Council, with the aim of finding a solution that is acceptable to all parties.

Too early to speculate on names

The Treaty of Lisbon will also lead toorganisational changes and new posts. The European Union will get an appointed President, and an external relations service will be established. A new European Commission will also be appointed. However, the Presidency will not pursue these issues before it is clear when the Lisbon Treaty can enter into force.

“There is a great longing to get the new Treaty in place. The European Council has previously expressed a wish to get the Treaty in place before the end of the year. We also face the fact that the current Commission's term of office runs out at the end of October, so we need clarity over which Treaty will form the basis for a new Commission. Before we have that, it is not possible to start a discussion on names for the jobs that are to be filled, and then the process will still take a further few months", says Prime Minister Fredrik Reinfeldt.