” ” The British MEP Richard Corbet and the Spanish MEP Íñigo Méndez de Vigo are the authors of the report asking the EU Parliament to approve the Lisbon Treaty and exhorting "the member states to ratify it before the end of the year" and "inform their citizens in the run-up to the European election in 2009". The Assembly will tackle the matter during the next week’s session in Strasbourg (18-21 February): the report considers the articles signed on 13th December "a substantial improvement on the current treaties". It "will increase the democratic responsibility and decision-making power of the EU" by "strengthening the role of the European Parliament and the role of the national parliaments; it will strengthen the citizens’ rights and will improve the effectiveness of the operation of its institutions". In addition to these positive notes, the document submitted to Parliament shows some drawbacks too, such as the loss of the constitutional approach and the exclusion of the EU symbols (flag, anthem). According to the report, the fact the enforcement of the new voting system within the Council has been postponed to 2014 is also a negative.
