Belgian Senate votes to approve EU Constitution

Belgium’s Senate has voted overwhelmingly to back the new European Union constitution in the first of several legislative votes needed before Belgium ratifies the charter.

The upper house of the federal parliament approved the text 54-9 with one abstention late on Thursday. Only the two far right parties voted against the charter.

The constitution also needs approval from the lower house and five assemblies representing Belgium’s regions and linguistic communities.

So far, parliaments in five of the 25 EU nations have ratified the document - Greece, Hungary, Italy, Lithuania and Slovenia. The constitution faces a major test in a referendum May 29 in France where polls show a narrow lead for the “no” vote.

Spain is the only other nation to have held referendum, with 77% voting ‘yes’ in February. The Spanish Parliament must still officially adopt the document.