The majestic Jeronimos monastery in Lisbon where European Union leaders sign a new treaty today was built 500 years ago when Portugal was a monarchy and the country's seafarers changed the course of European history.
EU governments say the Lisbon Treaty will ensure their bloc's international influence and prosperity in the 21st century.
Like Portugal's 16th-century kings, though, most will not be checking whether their citizens agree.
Only one of the EU's 27 countries is putting the landmark document to a vote: Ireland, which will hold a referendum because the country's constitution compels it to do so.
The other 26 say they will ratify the Lisbon Treaty in their parliaments.
They are steering clear of trouble: the last time European voters got a say on what their leaders had decided the bloc sank into the worst crisis of its 50-year history.
The new treaty is intended as a more palatable version of what was a grander project - the European Constitution, which leaders signed with much pomp in Rome in 2004.
But the following year voters in France and the Netherlands refused to endorse the plan. Political disarray ensued, even worse than in 1992 when Danes said "no" to the Maastricht Treaty on a common European currency, among other issues.
Julie Smith, a Europe analyst at London-based think-tank Chatham House, says the 2005 setback and continuing public wariness about granting the EU greater powers is partly due to broad unfamiliarity with the new treaty and what it entails.
"It's not a sexy topic," Smith said.
Referendums also offer a soft target: "If you want to give your government a kick in the teeth, you vote against in the referendum," she said.
She noted that in France's 2005 referendum, many voters were disaffected with then-president Jacques Chirac and wanted to deliver a rebuke.
Having misread the public mood three years ago, EU leaders were forced to backtrack but still insisted on changes to how the EU is run. It was the only way of coping with the bloc's expansion to 27 nations and almost 500 million people, they said.
At a summit in Lisbon two months ago, they agreed on a modified version of the proposed reforms.
Renamed the Reform Treaty, it scrapped the previous document's most unpopular aspects, such as a European flag and anthem, but retained procedural changes that permit faster decision-making.
Acting on their monarchs' orders, Portugal's 16th-century seafarers reached Asia by ship for the first time and furnished their continent with new wealth and power.
The EU's modern leaders say their new treaty's rules will enable them to act more promptly in response to contemporary global challenges such as defense and energy security.
The arrangement scrubs the system under which the bloc's presidency rotates among member states every six months. Instead, a president chosen by member states will serve a 2-year term.
EU voting procedures are altered, the number of European Commissioners is cut, and a new high representative for foreign policy will be appointed.
Despite the alterations, European leaders - among them some who had promised a referendum on the previous constitution plan - have shied away from submitting the new version to a vote.
British Prime Minister Gordon Brown, whose country has traditionally been one of the most squeamish about efforts to place more power in Brussels, is likely to be one of the most uncomfortable leaders in the Portuguese capital.
Brown says he will not abide by his predecessor Tony Blair's promise of a referendum. He insists the treaty enshrines British sovereignty in justice, home and foreign affairs, and security issues and says it will be debated in Parliament.
Source: China Daily/Agencies
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