(HELSINKI) - Finnish President Tarja Halonen on Friday ratified the European Union's Lisbon Treaty, giving the final approval for the deal adopted by Finland's parliament by a large majority in June.

One hundred and fifty-one of Finland's 200 parliamentarians voted for the treaty on June 11 while 27 opposed it and 21 were absent.

The Lisbon Treaty replaces the EU constitution that was rejected by French and Dutch voters in referendums in 2005, plunging the bloc into the worst crisis in its half-century history.

The Finnish president had three months after parliament's vote to ratify the text.

However, the Aaland islands, an autonomous region of Finland, also need to ratify the treaty. The Finnish government and Aaland's representatives are currently negotiating how to improve the islands' participation in EU matters.

Aaland's parliament is expected to decide its position on the Lisbon treaty by the end of the year, though its decision will have no consequence on mainland Finland's ratification.

Ireland, the only country in the 27-member bloc to hold a referendum on the reform treaty, sent shockwaves through the EU when 53 percent of voters rejected it in June.

EU leaders are set to discuss the Irish rejection again at an October summit in an effort to overcome the impasse ahead of European Parliament elections next year.

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