Signing of the Treaty of Lisbon

The diplomacy and brokering that lead to the political deal contained in the Treaty of Lisbon (then referred to as the 'Reform Treaty') was largely an achievement by the German presidency of the Council of the European Union, led by Chancellor Angela Merkel in the first half of 2007. At the meeting of the European Council on 18 and 19 October 2007, Portugal, which succeeded Germany as holder of the Presidency, did however insist that the Treaty be signed in Lisbon, the Portuguese capital. This request was granted, and the Treaty was thus to be called the Treaty of Lisbon, in line with the tradition of naming European Union treaties. The Portuguese presidency was appointed to the job of organising a programme and a ceremony for the signing of the treaty in late 2007, later specified to 13 December. ==Ceremony==

giving his speech prior to the signing ceremony At 10:00 the plenipotentiaries from the 27 member states, as well as the presidents of the three main EU institutions, started arriving outside the Jerónimos Monastery with their motorcades. They were in turn met with welcome greetings by Portuguese Prime Minister José Sócrates and Foreign Minister Luis Amado. When all participants and the audience were seated inside the main courtyard of the monastery (with a temporary roof for the occasion), a choir of Portuguese children, accompanied by a piano, performed the original German-language version of the European anthem, the Ludwig van Beethoven's Ode to Joy. After this interlude, the President of the European Commission, José Manuel Barroso; the President of the European Parliament, Hans-Gert Pöttering and the Prime Minister of Portugal (in the role of President of the European Council), José Sócrates, respectively, held speeches stressing the historic significance of the day. Around noon the main signing ceremony began, with representatives from the 27 member states signing the treaty in the alphabetic order. Afterwards, renowned Portuguese folk artist Dulce Pontes performed a musical piece in the country's traditional Fado genre. The programme at Jerónimos Monastery ended with a traditional 'family photo' of the leaders outside the South Gate of the historical building. List of signatories Representatives from the member states signed the treaty in the following order: File:Lisbon Treaty FA Belgium.png|1. :Prime minister Guy VerhofstadtForeign minister Karel De Gucht File:Lisbon Treaty FA Bulgaria.png|2. :Prime minister Sergei StanishevDept. PM, Foreign min. Ivailo Kalfin File:Lisbon Treaty FA Czech.png|3. :Mirek TopolánekKarel Schwarzenberg File:Lisbon Treaty FA Denmark.png|4. Prime minister Anders RasmussenForeign minister Per Stig Møller File:Lisbon Treaty FA Germany.png|5. :Angela MerkelFrank-Walter Steinmeier File:Lisbon Treaty FA Estonia.png|6. :Prime minister Andrus AnsipForeign minister Urmas Paet File:Lisbon Treaty FA Ireland.png|7. :Bertie AhernDermot Ahern File:Lisbon Treaty FA Greece.png|8. :Konstantinos KaramanlisTheodora Bakoyannis File:Lisbon Treaty FA Spain.png|9. :José Luis ZapateroMiguel Angel Moratinos File:Lisbon Treaty FA France.png|10. :Nicolas SarkozyFrançois FillonBernard Kouchner File:Lisbon Treaty FA Italy.png|11. :Romano ProdiMassimo D'Alema File:Lisbon Treaty FA Cyprus.png|12. :Tassos PapadopoulosErato Kozakou-Marcoullis File:Lisbon Treaty FA Latvia.png|13. :Valdis ZatlersAigars KalvītisMāris Riekstiņš File:Lisbon Treaty FA Lithuania.png|14. :Valdas AdamkusGediminas KirkilasPetras Vaitiekūnas File:Lisbon Treaty FA Luxembourg.png|15. :Jean-Claude JunckerJean Asselborn File:Lisbon Treaty FA Hungary.png|16. :Ferenc GyurcsányKinga Göncz File:Lisbon Treaty FA Malta.png|17. :Lawrence GonziMichael Frendo File:Lisbon Treaty FA Netherlands.png|18. :Jan-Peter BalkenendeMaxime Verhagen File:Lisbon Treaty FA Austria.png|19. :Alfred GusenbauerUrsula Plassnik File:Lisbon Treaty FA Poland.png|20. :Donald TuskRadosław Sikorski File:Lisbon Treaty FA Portugal.png|21. :PM José SócratesFM Luis Amado File:Lisbon Treaty FA Romania.png|22. :Traian BăsescuCălin-Constantin-Anton Popescu-TăriceanuAdrian-Mihai Cioroianu File:Lisbon Treaty FA Slovenia.png|23. :Janez JanšaDimitrij Rupel File:Lisbon Treaty FA Slovakia.png|24. :Robert FicoJán Kubis File:Lisbon Treaty FA Finland.png|25. :Matti VanhanenIlkka Kanerva File:Lisbon Treaty FA Sweden.png|26 :Fredrik ReinfeldtCecilia Malmström File:Lisbon Treaty FA United Kingdom.png|27. :Gordon BrownDavid Miliband Location and decorations The Portuguese presidency decided to arrange the main signing ceremony in the main chapel of the Manueline Monastery of Jerónimos from 1502 in the Belém district of Lisbon, partly because this location was also used to sign the Portuguese treaty of accession to the European Union in 1985. This brought criticism from opposition parties. The Conservatives claimed it made him appear "gutless" and referred to it as a "stunt" which proved Brown was "not very good at international diplomacy". The Liberal Democrats claimed it raised "serious questions" and Chris Huhne said showed "inept and peevish behaviour that leaves Gordon Brown's reputation for honest dealing with our EU partners hanging by a thread". Parts of British media also criticised Brown for this, suggesting he did it because he was ashamed to sign the Treaty, with Nick Robinson, BBC Political Editor, claiming that Brown was capable of attending the signing but instead chose not to. ==Tram tour and Coach Museum lunch==

Following the group photo outside the monastery, the leaders took a ride on one of Lisbon electric trams together. This unusual way of transporting heads of state and government was described as a symbol of the fraternity of European countries on the path of European integration. The trip ended at the National Coach Museum of Portugal, wherein a festive lunch was held amid a historical collection of royal carriages. The delay of British Prime Minister Gordon Brown resulted with him arriving at the museum and signing the Treaty there. ==Demonstrations and criticism==

Protestors were present in Lisbon when the treaty was signed. For instance the British pressure group I Want a Referendum staged a demonstration against the treaty being ratified in the United Kingdom by means of approval only by the British Parliament, without holding an additional referendum. The Treaty of Amsterdam established Brussels as the seat of all normal European Council meetings and as the signing coincided with one of those meetings, there was disagreement as to the venue. Belgium, keen not to set any precedent of holding mandatory meetings outside of Brussels against the treaty, wanted the meeting in Brussels whereas the Portuguese EU presidency wanted it in Lisbon in order to call the treaty, the Treaty of Lisbon. The result was to sign the treaty in Lisbon, then continue the meeting in Brussels which became an open invitation for the media to attack the leaders for taking 27 separate unnecessary plane journeys, undermining the EU's environmental standing just as it sought to get international backing behind a post-Kyoto agreement. In the end, some leaders (such as the three Benelux leaders) plane pooled. ==Media coverage==

The television coverage of the ceremony was produced by Rádio e Televisão de Portugal, the public broadcaster of Portugal. The ceremony was broadcast live on for instance the website of the Portuguese presidency as well as on international television news networks, including Euronews. ==See also==