Brussels, 02/02/2005 (Agence Europe) - On Tuesday the Slovenian parliament obtained an almost unanimous vote in favour of ratifying the draft European Constitution. The former Yugoslav republic, which joined the EU in May 2004, has therefore become the third Union Member State, after Lithuania and Hungary to complete procedure for ratifying the text. Before the vote, prime minister Janez Jansa told MPs that, “The constitutional treaty represents a good compromise by all Member States of the EU, even if it is not to the entire satisfaction of any country”. 79 MPs votes for and 4 against.
In Brussels, European Commission vice president, Margot Wallström, in charge of communication welcomed the Slovenian vote, declaring “I welcome with satisfaction the result from the Slovenian Parliament, which has voted overwhelmingly in favour of ratification of the European Union Constitution”.