It was a solemn affair yesterday as European Union leaders gathered in Lisbon for the signing of the hard-fought Lisbon Treaty, the fruition of years of political wrangling.

The treaty – signed yesterday by Prime Minister Lawrence Gonzi and Foreign Affairs Minister Michael Frendo before a backdrop of the Maltese flag – will also provide particular satisfaction for Malta, which has through the treaty secured itself a long coveted additional sixth seat at the European Parliament.

Speaking yesterday following the signing, Prime Minister Lawrence Gonzi remarked how this year the European Union celebrated its 50th anniversary and “what better way to mark the occasion than by looking towards its future?”

He described the signing as a moment of satisfaction and hailed the treaty as a success not just for EU leaders, but also for their citizens.

The Lisbon Treaty, also referred to as the Reform Treaty, is a watered-down version of the failed EU constitution, scuttled by French and Dutch voters in 2005.

Since then EU leaders have been engaged in intense negotiations in consecutive bids to hammer out an alternative, slimmed down agreement on the future working of the EU and responding as a union more quickly to global issues.

But the agreement came at a price with states such as the UK, Ireland, Italy and Poland needing to be placated in a number of areas to counter their veto threats.

The treaty – signed yesterday at an ornate 16th-century riverside monastery, the Mosteiro dos Jerónimos – will still need to be ratified by 26 EU national parliaments, as well as by Irish voters in a referendum.

As such, yesterday’s signing etched Malta’s sixth EP seat in the treaty, but not yet in stone. Malta will be looking expectantly to its fellow EU member states for their ratifications before the June 2009 European parliamentarian elections.

Dr Gonzi yesterday said he expected the Maltese parliament to ratify the treaty in the coming year and that Malta’s fellow EU member states would hopefully be doing the same by the end of 2008, in time for the MEP elections.

In a speech before the signing, European Commission President José Manuel Durão Barroso called on European leaders to use the treaty to make freedom, prosperity and solidarity an everyday reality for all European citizens. “From this old continent, a new Europe is born,” he said.

Also speaking yesterday European Parliament Pres-ident Hans-Gert Pottering observed, “At the start of the year, there was still talk of an insurmountable crisis for the European Union. Today, the European Union is emerging from this crisis stronger.”

In what was perhaps a veiled comment for the benefit of Malta and other southern EU member states, he added, “The European Union is a union of solidarity. We do not abandon any member state to external pressures in matters such as energy security or immigration.”

Portuguese Prime Minister José Socrates, whose country holds the EU presidency, said the treaty would create a more modern, more efficient and more modern union.

“Today we need a stronger union,” he said. “Stronger to respond to the longings of European citizens, to promote the European economy and defend European values. But a more ambitious Europe is also the most important contribution we can give to a better world.

He added, “With the Treaty of Lisbon, Europe finally overcomes the political and institutional impasse that limited its capacity to act during the last few years.”

The treaty reforms many of the ways in which the EU is run, considering the enormous growth of the union since 2004.

For starters, it envisages a smaller European Comm-ission, which, until now, had allotted one commissioner per member state. The commission will be cut down to just 17 commissioners come 2014, after which commissioners will be selected for five-year terms on a rotation system among all member states.

The size of the European Parliament is also being cut down from the current 785 to 751 MEPs. Although the EP reform spells out a reduction in representation for 17 member states, it also sets a minimum of six seats per member state – as such raising Malta’s MEP quota from the current five to six.

Also in 2014, the so-called double majority voting system will come into force replacing the unanimity requirement in 50 areas including judicial and police cooperation, education and economic policy, although the UK and Ireland have brokered opt-out agreements in judicial and police matters.

Instead of the present unanimous vote requirements, decisions will be passed if 55 per cent member states representing more than 65 per cent of the EU’s 490 million population are in agreement. Unanimity will, however, still be required in the areas of foreign and defence policy, social security, taxation and culture.

National parliaments will also be given more oversight powers of EU legislation, while the European Parliament has also been given more powers to modify or reject proposed EU legislation.

The EU, through the treaty’s provisions, will have a president serving a 30-month term. Tony Blair’s name has in the past been bandied about for the post. It also establishes a more powerful EU foreign policy chief, who will be a member of the Commission but answerable to member states. The individual will have control of the EU’s enormous network of civil servants and diplomats, as well as of the EU’s aid budget.

Addressing environmental issues, the treaty raises the fight against climate change as well as energy to formal EU policy areas.

The treaty also makes it possible for member states to leave the EU if they should choose to do so, while also providing that if one million petition signatures requesting EU law in any specific area are collected, the Commission would have to oblige by drafting legislation.

The EU’s charter of fundamental rights will also become legally binding across 25 member states, with the exceptions of the UK and Poland.

The 50-article charter comprises a comprehensive list of rights including freedom of speech and religion, as well as the rights to shelter, education, collective labour bargaining and fair working conditions.

EU leaders reconvene in Brussels today for a regular, one-day summit meeting, where the issues of the Commission’s recent proposals on immigration policy and the European Council’s Declaration on Globalisation will be discussed.