As it continued to enlarge itself, the EU found it increasingly difficult to function on the basis of the Treaty of Nice. It became a common mission for all EU members to get around the earlier constitutional impasse and show to the public that the union had the ability to cope with the challenges of the 21st century.

The conclusion of a new treaty as the successor to the constitutional treaty shelved two years ago is a significant event, Li said. He believes it is a major step the EU has taken to overcome the biggest crisis since its inception.

It is a rule that the EU takes "two steps forward and one step backward" as it tries to achieve integration, Li said, referring to the concessions that member countries have had to make to keep the process on track. The reform treaty proves that the rule is still valid. The EU always can find ways to resolve its crises, something that keeps the public confident about European integration, he said.

A state-like union?

The reform treaty dropped most of the defunct constitution treaty's "apparently supranational" features but basically retained its constitutional elements, Li said. The new treaty would enhance the power of the EU from a variety of perspectives, thus deepening European integration, he said.

Among other institutional changes, the reform treaty installs a new foreign policy chief for the EU and a long-term president for the European Council to replace the current six-month rotating presidency. However, it avoids using the name "constitution" as well as references to EU symbols-the flag, the anthem and the motto.

The treaty introduces a double majority voting system, allowing decision-making to be carried out by a 55-percent majority of member states and simultaneously by 65 percent of the EU's total population. It also reduces the size of the executive European Commission, and gives national parliaments more power. In addition, the EU Charter of Fundamental Rights-the union's document of human rights provisions-will be incorporated into the treaty to become legally binding for member states.

Under the treaty, the EU for the first time will acquire a single legal personality and turn itself into an independent entity on the international stage, Li said. The treaty will make it possible for the EU to carry out negotiations and cooperation with other parties in a wide range of fields such as trade, foreign affairs and defense. In this way, the EU will hopefully change its image from being "an economic giant and political dwarf" to a major political force, he said.

Compared with previous EU treaties, the reform treaty has made a breakthrough in terms of supranational features, Li said. According to the treaty, the EU can make decisions to sign international agreements with majority voting, he added. Moreover, the international treaties it signs will take precedence over the domestic laws of its member states and the international agreements they have signed.

Also, the EU will have common borders and border military forces, Li said. It also will form common defense policies for all its members, establish a common weapons market and might even create a common army, he said.

Li believes these provisions will enable the EU to "speak with one voice" and are conducive to the European integration process.

Liu shares similar views, saying the reform treaty is set to enhance the EU's diplomatic and political influence. However, he is concerned about the reform treaty's ratification despite the present good momentum. Whether all the 27 EU members, especially Britain, will ratify the treaty remains to be seen, he said. The Netherlands and France said they would not hold referendums on the treaty but ratify it through parliamentary voting. Germany said it would try to become one of the first EU members to ratify the treaty. British Prime Minister Gordon Brown, however, faces tremendous pressure from the general public to hold a referendum on the reform treaty, although Britain has negotiated complex opt-outs on police and judicial cooperation and from the Charter of Fundamental Rights.

Opponents of globalization, especially those who fear losing their jobs to migrant workers from other EU countries, are against the integration process, Liu said. Europe is beset with many problems today such as sluggish economic growth, slow progress in the reform of social welfare systems and financial burdens caused by aging populations. Against this backdrop, Europeans are eager to see the EU concentrate on economic development and job creation to deliver benefits to the people, he said.

At the same time, Liu warned that the EU's foreign policy chief may not be able to work effectively because of the member countries' reluctance to transfer their diplomatic power, an important sovereign power, to the EU.