EU can now focus on climate, economy: Austria

(VIENNA) - The European Union can finally focus on bigger issues like climate change and the economy, with the entry into force of the Lisbon Treaty, Austria's foreign minister said on Tuesday.

"The Lisbon Treaty has finally come into force" after nine years of negotiations over a new framework for the EU, Foreign Minister Michael Spindelegger welcomed in a statement.

"Now Europe can concentrate on challenges like climate change, its role in the world and how to overcome the economic crisis," he said.

Spindelegger also welcomed the fact that the treaty continued to give smaller EU members more influence.

"The treaty secures the position of small and medium states: we are still disproportionately represented in EU institutions and we will have every opportunity to gain influence and be heard," he noted.

Each of the EU's 27 members, regardless of its size, will continue to have a representative in the European commission, and a vote in the Council, he added.

The reforming Lisbon Treaty, designed to streamline the workings of the European Union, entered into force on Tuesday, creating the first posts of EU president and foreign policy supremo.