Lisbon treaty ratified
Vaclav Klaus has become the final European leader to sign the Lisbon treaty into law, enabling it to take effect across all 27 countries. This is good news from a purely practical point of view - it streamlines decision making and enables the EU to work more effectively with a growing number of member states. From a symbolic point of view things are more controversial. It is a declaration that the European institutions intend to move forward rather than fading into irrelevance, and there are a number of important symbols which will reinforce this in the public view. In ten years it is possible to foresee a European president coordinating and powerfully representing European interests in the world. Possibly even the beginning of a European economic or fiscal presence. And most importantly, a more powerful, legitimate and meaningful democratic process in Brussels and Strasbourg. Most people would regard most of these things - in isolation - as positive moves. But they will inevitably ta...