German parliament approves EU constitution
Germany's lower house of parliament on Thursday backed the EU constitution with an overwhelming majority in a move it hoped would persuade French voters to approve the treaty.
The constitution received 569 votes in favour in the Bundestag, with 23 votes against and two abstentions.
The main German political parties indicated the ratification would be rubber-stamped by the Bundesrat upper house when it votes on May 27, two days before France holds its referendum on the constitution.
Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder said he hoped the clear support from his country's parliament would encourage voters in France, where opinion polls showed that the "yes" and "no" camps were neck and neck.
French President Jacques Chirac hailed the German vote. "With this vote, the German deputies have once again shown their attachment to European integration. It's an important decision with a view to the coming into force of the treaty," said Chirac's spokesman.
Schroeder's Social Democratic Party (SPD), their coalition partner the Greens and the main opposition Christian Democrats all supported the treaty. Angela Merkel, the leader of the Christian Democratic Union (CDU), acknowledged there was some concern within her party that the constitution would erode the power of national governments.
Source: EUbusiness
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