The Treaty of Lisbon is one of the cornerstones of European integration and the European Union. It is an international agreement that introduces changes to the two previous treaties that constitute the constitution of the European Union. It was signed on December 13^th 2007 in Lisbon by all current EU member states. The two predecessor agreements were the Rome Treaty and the Maastricht Treaty.

The Lisbon Treaty is just a step in the movement for further internal integration within the European Union. It follows the results made by the Treaty of Amsterdam in 1997 and the Treaty of Nice in 2001. The Lisbon Treaty is the answer to the failed attempt to create European Union Constitution. That initiative was abandoned in 2005 when two countries- France and the Netherlands decided that they are against a constitution that spans over the whole organization. Nonetheless, the Lisbon treaty managed to pass most of the changes envisioned in the failed constitution.

One of the main parts of the Lisbon Treaty is the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union. It includes 55 articles which govern political, economic and social rights of all EU citizens. This charter is legally binding for all signed countries. Its goal is that the human rights stated by the European Convention on Human Rights are upheld in all EU member states. So far there have been to countries that have chosen not to abide by this Charter- these are the United Kingdom and Poland.

The other main points where changes were implemented are: the Central Bank, the judiciary system, the Council of Ministers, the European Council, the European Parliament, national parliaments, the European Commission and issues regarding foreign relations and security. The Lisbon Treaty has been one of the most far-reaching reformist documents passed within the European Union.

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