German upper house approves EU treaty
(BERLIN) - The upper house of the German parliament approved on Friday the European Union's reforming Lisbon Treaty, a revamped version of the EU constitution rejected by Dutch and French voters in 2005.
The treaty will now go to President Horst Koehler for approval. The lower house of parliament passed it with a large majority in late April.
Parliaments in 14 of the 27 members of the EU -- Austria, Bulgaria, Denmark, France, Germany, Hungary, Malta, Lithuania, Latvia, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia and Slovenia -- have now approved the treaty.
Ireland is the only EU nation to hold a plebiscite on the treaty. The referendum will take place on June 12.
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