Informal European Council, Lisbon 18-19/10/2007

European leaders approved the new EU reform treaty during their two-day meeting in Lisbon. Two and a half years after the victory of the “no” vote in the referendums on the [EU] Constitution in France and the Netherlands, the informal Lisbon Council gave the green light to the new 255-page text for the EU expanding to 27 and later to 30 members. The final obstacles were overcome in a seven-hour marathon session led by the Portuguese Presidency, which resulted in agreements with Italy and Poland respectively on the seats in the European Parliament and the “Ioannina clause”. The following day, European leaders discussed the challenges of globalization.