Hungary became the second country to ratify the European Union's constitution after parliament overwhelmingly voted Monday to back the text, which aims to streamline the workings of the 25-member EU.

The vote crossed party lines as 322 lawmakers cast ballots in favor of ratifying the constitution with 12 against and eight abstaining. A total of 43 were absent.

The backing of a two-thirds majority of the 385 legislators was needed in order for the text to pass.

President Ferenc Madl must still sign the constitution in order to complete formally Hungary's ratification process.

The Socialist-Liberal coalition government said it was "elated" that the constitution was rapidly ratified and also that the new EU basic law will make a reference to the protection of the rights of minorities.

"We are elated that it was ratified with such speed and that it was Hungary which proposed the inclusion of a reference on the protection of minorities in the text," Boglar Laszlo, spokeswoman for Socialist Prime Minister Ferenc Gyurcsany told AFP.

There are some 2.5 million ethnic Hungarians living in countries neighboring Hungary, including 1.5 million in Romania, 600,000 in Slovakia, 300,000 in Serbia and others in Croatia, Ukraine, Slovenia and Austria.

Hungary joined the EU on May 1 of this year in an expansion that included 10 nations, eight of them former communist states of central and eastern Europe.

Last month Lithuania, another new EU member, became the first country in the bloc to ratify the constitution following a parliamentary vote.

The constitution is the first ever for the Union and is aimed at preventing decision-making gridlock after the EU grew from 15 to 25 members.

It notably foresees a two-and-a-half-year EU presidency term to replace the current six-month rotating system, while streamlining the executive Commission and creating a new post of EU foreign minister.

The text has been accepted by all member states, but must still be ratified by each of them at the national level -- either by a referendum or a parliamentary vote -- before it can come into force.

A "no" vote in any EU state could in theory scuttle the constitution.

In the next two years, the constitution -- inked by EU government leaders in Rome on October 29 after two years of haggling -- faces a series of referendums in different countries which have chosen to put it to a popular vote.

Countries that have opted for a popular vote include Britain, Ireland, France, Luxembourg, Spain, Portugal, Poland and Denmark.

Spaniards will be the first to vote on the constitution on February 20 next year, while Luxembourg and the Netherlands are also expected to vote in the first half of next year.

France is scheduled to follow later in 2005, while Britain has said it will likely hold its vote in early 2006, along with Denmark and Ireland.

Of the 12 Hungarian MP's who voted against the EU constitution, seven were from the main opposition conservative Fidesz party and the rest were right-wing independent legislators.