Czech President Vaclav Klaus has signed the Treaty. Thus the final hurdle in the way of the Treaty of Lisbon has been cleared.

- I am very pleased that president Klaus today has signed the Lisbon Treaty. His signature ends a far too long period of institutional focus within the EU. It  opens up for a more democratic, transparent and efficent Union, says Prime Minister Fredrik Reinfeldt.

Treaty enters into force on 1 December

After a long journey, the Treaty of Lisbon has reached the goal. With the signature of the Czech President, all EU Member States have now ratified the text. The Treaty enters into force on 1 December and all the details must now be put into place.
- To finalise the Treaty preparations I will now begin name consultations. As soon as possible I will also call for an EU summit, says Fredrik Reinfeldt.

Final storage in Rome

When all the treaties are signed, the instruments of ratification, as they are known, will be transported to premises of the Italian Ministry for Foreign Affairs. All international agreements or treaties have a body/organisation or country administering the instruments of ratification. As of 1957, Italy has the role of Depositary. This means, for example, that Italy has the responsiblity of receiving, confirming and informing the EU’s Member States about what happens with the instruments.