The parliaments of Denmark and Austria on Thursday formally
ratified the European Union's Treaty of Lisbon, raising to 11 the
overall number of member states that have already formalized the
text.
On the same day, lawmakers in the country that was at the
forefront of efforts to agree on what is also known as the EU's
Reform Treaty, Germany, also gave their preliminary backing.
The lower house of the German parliament, the Bundestag, approved
the treaty with 515 votes in favour, 58 against and one abstention,
assuring a considerably higher show of support than the required
two-thirds majority.
A second and final vote is now expected to take place in Germany's
upper house of parliament next month.
Speaking ahead of the vote, Chancellor Angela Merkel described the
treaty as 'good for Europe' and a 'win for Germany.'
It would provide a solid basis for Europe to move forward, said
the chancellor, who was one of the main moving forces behind
negotiations towards agreeing the treaty.
Through the treaty Europe would grow stronger and more self-
confident than before, Merkel said.
She highlighted the introduction of more majority votes as a
positive factor.
In Denmark, parliament ratified the reform treaty with a clear
majority, 90 to 25, while 64 members of parliament, including Prime
Minister Anders Fogh Rasmussen, were absent from the 179-seat
parliament during the vote. There were no abstentions.
The government had earlier concluded that the Lisbon Treaty did
not require a specific referendum as some parties had called for.
The populist Danish People's Party, that otherwise has provided
backing for Rasmussen's minority government in recent years, voted
against the ratification.
Earlier Thursday, Austria's upper house of parliament had ratified
the treaty with the support of the ruling Social Democrats, the
conservative People's Party and the opposition Greens.
The two right-wing opposition parties, the FPOe and the BZOe,
voted against it, mirroring the vote in the Austrian lower house.
The treaty must now be signed by President Heinz Fischer for it to
be ratified, but this is a mere formality under the Austrian system
of government.
The vote was welcomed by European Commission President Jose Manuel
Barroso.
'I would like to welcome the positive conclusion of the
parliamentary process on the Treaty of Lisbon by the Austrian
Parliament today,' Barroso said in a statement.
'The treaty provides for a more effective, democratic and
accountable union that is also stronger externally. I would like to
thank the Austrian Government for its active contribution during the
negotiations and pay tribute to the Austrian Parliament for the swift
approval of the Treaty,' he added.
The news was not all positive for the ratification process as a
euro-sceptic Czech parliament asked the nation's Constitutional Court
to review the treaty.
The Senate voted 48-22 to have the high court rule whether the
Lisbon Treaty is constitutional, a move that is expected to drag out
the ratification process in the Czech Republic.
The proposal was initiated by Prime Minister Mirek Topolanek's
right-wing Civic Democrats.
Czech President Vaclav Klaus, who founded the party, is a
treaty critic, but has pledged not to block its ratification.
The treaty, which is designed to improve decision-making in the
expanded EU, must be ratified by all 27 member states before it can
come into force.
Ireland is the only EU country that plans to hold a referendum on
the treaty, which EU officials hope will come into force on January
1, 2009. The Irish vote is scheduled for June 12.
No votes in referendums in France and the Netherlands in mid-2005
ended attempts to ratify a more ambitious European Constitution,
leading to the drawing up of the Treaty of Lisbon.
EU leaders - including the Czech Republic's Topolanek - signed the
treaty in December in the Portuguese capital.
The treaty has now passed parliaments in 11 EU countries: Denmark,
Austria, Portugal, Slovakia, Poland, Bulgaria, Hungary, Slovenia,
Malta, Romania and France.
'The ratification process is now well advanced and I look forward
to its successful conclusion,' Barroso said in messages sent to
Austria and Denmark.
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