(THE HAGUE) - The Dutch Senate voted Tuesday in favour of the EU's Lisbon Treaty, the penultimate stage in the Netherlands' ratification of the document which was last month rejected by Irish voters.

The text must now be signed by Queen Beatrix to take effect.

The treaty, which seeks to streamline EU institutions as the bloc expands, was adopted by a majority of 60 out of 75 votes in the upper house and had the support of the majority Christian Democrats (CDA), the Liberal Party (VVD) and the Labour Party (PvdA).

The Socialist Party with 11 lawmakers, the Christian SGP party with two, and two one-member parties; the Party for Animals and Fractie-Yildirim, voted against the measure.

The Netherlands, along with France, rejected the Lisbon Treaty's predecessor, the ill-fated EU Constitution, in referendums in 2005.

The lower house of parliament gave the Lisbon Treaty the nod on June 5.

Ireland, the sole European country which required a public referendum on the issue, rejected the treaty on June 12 with 53.4 percent of the vote, presenting the EU with a constitutional crisis.

The treaty needs the approval of all 27 member states to take effect.

The Netherlands will become the 21st country to ratify the text.

European Commission chief Jose Manuel Barroso congratulated the country on approving the treaty.

"I want to thank the Dutch Government and Parliament for their strong support for the Treaty as shown by the large majority in today's vote," he said in a statement.

"I believe that today's approval of the Treaty is a strong signal of how important it is that all Member States are heard during the ratification process."

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