Leaders of the European Union's 27 member states meet in Portugal this week to sign what will now become known as the Lisbon Treaty.

Originally called the Reform Treaty, it was drawn up to replace the draft European constitution after that was thrown out by voters in France and the Netherlands in 2005.

All 27 EU countries will be expected to ratify the Treaty in 2008 with a view to it coming into force in 2009.
How similar will the new treaty be to the draft constitution?
It contains many of the changes the constitution attempted to introduce, for example:

1) A politician chosen to be president of the European Council for two-and-a-half years, replacing the current system where countries take turns at being president for six months

2) A new post combining the jobs of the existing foreign affairs supremo, Javier Solana, and the external affairs commissioner, Benita Ferrero-Waldner, to give the EU more clout on the world stage

3) A smaller European Commission, with fewer commissioners than there are member states, from 2014

4) A redistribution of voting weights between the member states, phased in between 2014 and 2017

5) New powers for the European Commission, European Parliament and European Court of Justice, for example in the field of justice and home affairs
6) Removal of national vetoes in a number of areas

Most European leaders acknowledge that the main substance of the constitution will be preserved.

source-BBCNEWS.