Slovenia

ratified by parliament: 1 February 2005. Third country that ratifies the EU Constitution.

Seventy-nine out of ninety Slovenian parliamentarians voted in favour of the EU Constitution yesterday. With only four opposing and seven abstaining this was an overwhelming result.

Slovenia is the third country that ratifies the Treaty after Lithuania and Hungary. Before the vote, Slovenian Prime Minister Janez Jansa told the parlamentarians that their support of the Constitution would allow Slovenia to take the lead in the ratification process in the EU and move the treaty one step closer to its implementation.

Ljubljana’s rush for early ratification was however strongly criticised by several opposition MP’s. "Instead of having a debate on the bill and then approving it, we are first approving it and later we are supposed to debate on it" said Bogdan Barovic of the nationalist opposition Slovenian National Party.

According to Ljubljana's Social Sciences Faculty poll 54% of the Slovenian population is in favour of the treaty not knowing its contents.