Denmark and Sweden ratify EU fiscal pact

(COPENHAGEN) - Parliaments in non-euro countries Denmark and Sweden have ratified the European Union's fiscal pact designed to strengthen the euro, as Ireland voted on it in a referendum Thursday.

Denmark's legislators voted by 80 votes to 27 on Thursday to join the fiscal compact, the Danish parliament said, while Sweden's lawmakers approved it late Wednesday, the Riksdag said in a statement without providing details of how the votes fell.

The two Scandinavian countries are members of the EU but not of the eurozone.

The fiscal pact, clinched after marathon talks by EU leaders in March, is a German-inspired accord that puts pressure on governments to rein in spending and was signed by all 27 EU countries except Britain and the Czech Republic.

It needs to be ratified by just 12 countries to come into force.

The Irish on Thursday held a referendum on the pact, which would penalise countries that sign up if they fail to keep their debt in check.

The vote will be closely watched as a "no" vote could give momentum to the growing European backlash against austerity measures.