Heads of state and government from the 27 member nations wrapped up two days of talks in Lisbon with wide smiles but bleary-eyed after the treaty success.

"With this accord Europe has emerged from its institutional crisis," Portuguese Prime Minister Jose Socrates told reporters.

The 'Treaty of Lisbon' -- which replaces the EU constitution scuppered by French and Dutch voters in referendums in 2005 -- was brokered in the early hours of Friday after overcoming last-minute Polish and Italian objections.

EU leaders deem the 250-plus page treaty vital because the bloc's rule book has not had a serious update since 10 Eastern European countries joined in May 2004, followed by Bulgaria and Romania in January.

Like the failed constitution, the treaty includes plans for a European foreign policy supremo and a more permanent president to replace the current cumbersome rotating six-month presidency system.

It also cuts the size of the European parliament and the number of EU decisions which would require unanimous support from member states.

However it drops all references to the EU flag or anthem, in attempts to assuage eurosceptics who see this as another move to a federal European superstate.

Unlike the constitution the treaty is an amending treaty, not something which would supercede all existing pacts.

However, the political agreement is not the end of the treaty's sometimes stormy passage.

The EU leaders will return to the Portuguese capital on December 13 to formally sign the text.

After that each of the 27 member states will have a year to ratify it, if it is to come into force as planned in January 2009.

French President Nicolas Sarkozy wasted no time in saying he hoped the French parliament would ratify the deal in December, just after it is signed.

Most other countries will be hoping to follow suit, getting the treaty formally adopted via the parliamentary route rather than putting it to the sort of unpredictable referendums which torpedoed the constitution it was drawn up to replace.

Only Ireland is constitutionally bound to hold a referendum but others, Britain especially, have growing pro-referendum lobbies.

"May or June is my preference," Irish Prime Minister Bertie Ahern said after the talks here.

However the European leaders stressed that the treaty deal will allow the EU to concentrate on many pressing issues.

"We've agreed that there is to be a declaration of new priorities" before the next EU summit in December, said British Prime Minister Gordon Brown, so that Europe can "move away from the institutional inward-looking debate of the past to deal with the full agenda of globalisation that faces us."

Britain also had many reservations about the treaty, but obtained opt-outs in key areas at the last EU summit in June.

Having successfully concluded the treaty deal on the first day of their Lisbon talks, the summiteers were able to concentrate on some wider questions which they hope to more fully embrace, with day two devoted largely to global warming and globalisation.

European Commission chief Jose Manuel Barroso summed up the delicate balancing act involved in spreading the gospel of globalisation.

"We must protect the citizens without being protective. We should be open without being naive. We should not close our doors, rather we should encourage others to open theirs," he said.

However the overwhelming sentiment emanating from the summit was that the door had been closed on years of crisis and institutional malaise with the advent of the Lisbon treaty.

earlier related report
No EU reforms needed for years, following treaty deal, say leaders
EU leaders on Friday vowed to concentrate their efforts on the real issues facing Europe and the world, stressing that no more institutional changes are required for years after agreeing a new reform treaty.

"We've agreed that there is to be a declaration of new priorities" before the next EU summit in December, said British Prime Minister Gordon Brown, so that Europe can "move away from the institutional inward-looking debate of the past to deal with the full agenda of globalisation that faces us."

European heads of state and government reached agreement on the 'Lisbon Treaty', drawn up to oil the wheels of the EU's creaking institutions, in the early hours of Friday morning after making concessions to the last hold-outs Poland and Italy, largely on voting systems and rights.

Polish President Lech Kaczynski left the Lisbon summit saying he agreed with Brown that there should be no new EU institutional reform for the next 10 years.

"We now need 10 years to see how the institutions are functioning before occupying ourselves with future reforms" Kaczynski told reporters, before returning to Poland which will hold legislative elections on Sunday.

However, some more EU navel-gazing is required, as the 27 member states must individually ratify the treaty before it can come into force, in January 2009 if things go to plan.

"I think that now we have a consensus that Europe should not go on looking inwards but should look outwards," European Commission chief Jose Manuel Barroso told a press conference after the two-day summit ended.

The EU leaders will return to the Portuguese capital on December 13 to formally sign the 250-plus page document.

Having successfully concluded the treaty deal on the first day of their Lisbon talks, the summiteers were able to concentrate on some pressing wider issues which they hope to more fully embrace, with day two devoted largely to global warming and globalisation.

Barroso summed up the delicate balancing act involved in spreading the gospel of globalisation.

"We must protect the citizens without being protective. We should be open without being naive. We should not close our doors, rather we should encourage others to open theirs," he said.

However the overwhelming sentiment emanating from the summit was that the door had been closed on years of crisis and institutional malaise with the advent of the Lisbon treaty.

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