Lisbon Treaty was signed by the 27 European Union (EU) Member States on 13 December 2007, and entered into force on 1 December 2009. It amends the Maastricht Treaty (1993) and the Treaty of Rome (1952).
As the Treaty of Lisbon completed 10 years, the European Commission President Von der Leyen on 18th December reminded how the Lisbon Treaty gave centre stage to the European citizens.
“It has brought more power to the European Parliament. It has called national Parliaments to the forefront. And it has given to the European citizens the right to call on the Commission to propose legislation”, she said.
In an effort to make the EU more efficient, the Lisbon Treaty introduced some prominent changes as well.
For example:
- The move from unanimity to qualified majority voting in at least 45 policy areas in the Council of Ministers,
- A more powerful European Parliament forming a bicameral legislature alongside the Council of Ministers, and
- A consolidated legal personality for the EU.
Through the Treaty, posts of a long-term President of the European Council and a High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy were created.
The Treaty also made the Union’s bill of rights, the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union, legally binding.
