"The Inter-Governmental Conference that we had opened on 23rd July and that ended on 18th October has been the quickest ever. The reason is clear: Europe needed a strong sign, a sign of confidence. In Lisbon we have reached an agreement that solves the crisis of the EU and looks to the future". José Socrates, Portuguese Prime Minister and president in office of the EU Council, defends the work of the current presidency, considers the new Treaty "a success", thanks for the cooperation provided by the EU Commission, the EU Parliament and the member states: "All tried to achieve a positive result". In front of the EU Parliament gathered in Strasbourg, Socrates listed the "obstacles" that the IGC and the summit of 18th and 19th October had to overcome: the Ioannina clause, the issue of the general lawyers of the Court of Justice (risen from 8 to 11), the figure of the High Representative for Foreign Policy, the distribution of Parliament seats, the opt-out clauses. Then he mentioned the "main acquisitions" of the act that will replace the Constitution: "Strengthening Parliament’s law-making and budgeting powers; improving the decision-making process; more effective immigration and asylum policies"; "clarifying relations" between the EU and the member states.
