The European Parliament on Wednesday voted overwhelmingly in favour of the Lisbon Treaty, a text designed to speed up decision-making within the expanded European Union, according to dpa. The treaty, which is also known as the Reform Treaty, received 525 votes in favour, 115 against in the Strasbourg plenary. Twenty-nine lawmakers abstained. The treaty needs to be ratified by all 27 member states before it can come into force, possibly in early 2009. So far, five countries have already done so. These are: France, Hungary, Slovenia, Malta and Romania. Inigo Mendez de Vigo of the conservative EPP-ED parliamentary group welcomed Wednesday's vote, noting that the Lisbon Treaty would provide the EU with "the tools to be more democratic and more efficient in the years ahead."
