As stipulated in the Lisbon Treaty which came into force on 1 December 2009, 54 out of the 136 renamed "EU delegations" will now take on the diplomatic functions previously held by the embassies of whichever member state held the rotating EU presidency. The heads of these 54 "super-delegations", which are mostly in Sub-Saharan Africa, Asia and Europe, will now have the authority to speak for the EU as a whole. However, they will need to have their statements approved by the Council. For more information and a list of the respective EU delegations, go to http://euobserver.com/9/29308