Stockholm  - As the European Union inches closer to adopting the Lisbon Treaty, the 27-nation bloc will be spurred to "look outwards," European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso said Thursday.

Barroso made the remarks in a speech at the opening of the European Development Days in Stockholm, the capital of the current EU-presidency holder Sweden.

The Lisbon Treaty is aimed at enhancing decision-making in the bloc.

"The Lisbon Treaty will encourage Europe to look outwards to the rest of the world once again," he said, adding that "development policy is one of the key vectors; one of the key instruments" for that.

He noted that the EU is a major donor accounting for almost 60 per cent of total global public assistance.

Barroso said the treaty is "on the cusp" of ratification.

The treaty is yet to be ratified by the Czech Republic pending a review by the country's Constitutional Court.

European Development Days groups government leaders, ministers, aid agencies and non-governmental organizations from over 120 countries over three days annually.(dpa)