Greece's parliament voted in favour of the European Union's new constitution on Tuesday, fulfilling its pledge to be among the first nations to ratify the treaty. The constitution was approved by a majority of the 300-member parliament and included deputies of both the conservative government and main opposition socialists. The document, signed by E.U. leaders in Rome last year, must be backed by all 25 member states, either by public referendum or parliamentary vote. So far, only Spain has backed the document with a referendum. Italy and three new E.U. members - Lithuania, Slovenia and Hungary have all also backed the constitution with parliamentary ratification. Ten other E.U. countries will hold referendums on the treaty, which is designed to ensure the smooth running of the bloc after 10 new members joined last year. Greece's vote comes ahead of a crucial May 29 referendum on the issue in France, one of the founding states of the European Union. A string of opinion polls there have continued to cause concern for the government in Paris by showing that a majority favour rejecting the constitution. --SP 2307 Local Time 2007 GMT
