A charter designed to transform the 27 countries and half a billion people of the European Union into a more unified and powerful global player has passed its last major hurdle and looks set to become law within weeks.

Once that happens, the Lisbon Treaty will allow more policy decisions by majority rather than unanimous votes at European summits. Those policies would then increasingly be shaped by the elected parliaments of each nation and the European Parliament, which currently has little say.

EU leaders say such new voting rules are needed to promote stronger policies in combating cross-border crime, terrorism and ecological threats.

Projecting this more decisive EU abroad would be the role of a new fixed-term president _ in place of a decades-old system that rotates the presidency among governments every six months _ and a new foreign minister.

That all became possible when Czech President Vaclav Klaus, who has been highly skeptical of increasing the EU's powers, signed the Lisbon Treaty at the Prague Castle on Tuesday, hours after his nation's Constitutional Court struck down a complaint against it.

Klaus has been tirelessly attacking and stalling the document, claiming it would hand too much power to European Union institutions in Brussels. He was awaiting the Brno-based court's ruling before deciding whether to endorse it.

"I expected the decision of the Constitutional Court and respect it," Klaus told reporters Tuesday afternoon, but added he vehemently disagrees with the verdict.

"The Czech Republic will cease to be a sovereign state," once the treaty enters into force, he said.

Klaus was the last obstacle to the full ratification of the treaty, which was bogged down in negotiations for almost a decade and has been ratified by all other 26 EU nations.

The Swedish EU Presidency said the treaty will enter into force on Dec. 1.

European leaders welcomed news of the signing.

"President Klaus' decision marks an important and historic step for all of Europe," British Prime Minister Gordon Brown said in a statement.

"Today is a day when Europe looks forward, when it sets aside years of debate on its institutions, and moves to take strong and collective action on the issues that matter most to European citizens: security, climate change, jobs and growth."

German Chancellor Angela Merkel noted during a speech to the U.S. Congress in Washington that, with the new treaty, the EU "will become stronger and more capable of acting, and so a strong and reliable partner for the United States."

"On this basis, we can build stable partnerships with others, above all with Russia, China and India," she added.

French President Nicolas Sarkozy said of Klaus' decision: "This is great news for all Europeans."

Sweden's Prime Minister Fredrik Reinfeldt, who has worked to seal the Lisbon Treaty under the Swedish EU presidency, said he would call for an EU summit as soon as possible.

Klaus' "signature ends a far too long period of institutional focus within the EU," Reinfeldt said in a text message sent from Washington. "It opens up for a more democratic, transparent and efficient Union." Continued...