On 19 October 2007, the Spanish daily newspaper El País comments on the agreement reached by the Twenty-Seven, against the backdrop of workers' protests in Lisbon, on the new Amending Treaty and echoes the satisfaction expressed by the Portuguese Prime Minister, José Sócrates, and the President of the European Commission, José Manuel Durão Barroso.

Meeting in Lisbon on 18 and 19 October 2007, the Heads of State or Government of the European Union reach agreement on the new Amending Treaty. In its 20 October issue, the French daily newspaper Le Figaro outlines the enthusiasm of the European leaders and the compromises secured.

On 14 December 2007, the European Council meets in Brussels to consider the major issues on the agenda, in particular long-term challenges, globalisation and the future of the Western Balkans. This European Council also provides an opportunity for a review of the main achievements of the Portuguese Presidency and, in particular, the signing of the Treaty of Lisbon.

In its resolution of 20 February 2008, the European Parliament expresses its view that, taken as a whole, the Treaty of Lisbon represents a stable framework for the future progress of the EU.

On 13 November 2007, Nicolas Sarkozy, President of the French Republic, gives an address to the European Parliament in which he outlines the reasons for the negative result in the French and Dutch referendums on the 2004 Constitutional Treaty. While praising the progress on institutional questions made by the new amending treaty, due to be signed in Lisbon on 13 December 2007, the French President emphasises the need to resolve the political questions which remain.

In this interview excerpt, Jacques Delors, President of the Commission of the European Communities from 1985 to 1995, emphasises the ‘fatigue' of the Member States concerning the process of revision of the treaties and the need to go beyond the withdrawal procedure provided by the Lisbon Treaty and make the procedure for revising the treaties more flexible.

Dans cette interview, Étienne Davignon, membre de la Commission européenne de 1977 à 1985 chargé notamment du Marché intérieur, des Affaires industrielles et de l'Union douanière, donne son sentiment sur les possibles avancées en matière d'intégration européenne suite au traité de Lisbonne signé en 2007.

In this interview, Valéry Giscard d’Estaing, President of the French Republic from 1974 to 1981 and Chairman of the Convention on the Future of Europe from December 2001 to July 2003, expresses his fears for the future of the European integration process, citing the difficulties in ratifying the Treaty of Lisbon and particularly emphasising the lack of political will.