The New Nation - Internet Edition

AP, Lisbon

European Union leaders endorsed a reform treaty Friday to replace their failed European constitution and give the 27-nation union a more influential say in world affairs, diplomats said.

The new treaty will take effect in 2009 if it passes national parliamentary votes and referendums.

"With this new treaty, Europe has overcome an impasse that lasted for several years," said Portuguese Prime Minister Jose Socrates, who hosted the EU summit. "Europe has emerged stronger from this summit, stronger to face global issues, stronger to take its role in the world and also to increase confidence in our economy and in our citizens," he told reporters. The pact aims to achieve the same thing as the constitution that collapsed in 2005 when it was rejected in French and Dutch referendums: to expand the union's global influence by translating its economic might into a bigger diplomatic punch.