The Treaty signed by the Heads of State or Government of the 27 Member States in Lisbon on 13 December 2007 will provide the European Union with modern institutions and optimised working methods to tackle today's challenges in today's world. Since 2004 12 more countries have joined the EU – nearly doubling its membership from 15 to 27 over the past 4 years.

During their debate in Strasbourg on 20 February 2008, MEPs said that the Lisbon Treaty would enhance the European Union's democratic accountability, better protect citizens' rights and improve the functioning of EU institutions. They called on Member States to ratify the Treaty by the end of this year, to pave the way for the June 2009 European elections. The report was adopted with 525 votes in favour, 115 against and 29 abstentions.

The links below provide users with essential resources to access the text of the Treaty of Lisbon and measure its impact on existing treaties.

The report co-authored by UK MEP Richard Corbett and Spanish MEP Íñigo Méndez de Vigo is provided in full, as is the resolution adopted by Parliament, illustrating the extent of democratic scrutiny exercised by this Institution.

• Treaty of Lisbon amending the Treaty on European Union and the Treaty establishing the European Community.
  The text of the Treaty is published in the Official Journal of the European Union of 17 December 2007.
  
  
• Consolidated text of the EU Treaties as amended by the Treaty of Lisbon
  The consolidated text is available from the website of the UK Foreign and Commonwealth Office.
  
  
• "The Treaty at a glance" on the European Commission's website
  
  
• The European Parliament's debate of 20 February 2008 is summarized by the Press Service on Europarl