Denemarken ratificeert als tiende lidstaat Verdrag van Lissabon (en)
Both Denmark and the lower house of Germany's parliament on Thursday (24 April) ratified the EU's new treaty, just a day after Portugal approved the document.
The Danish parliament passed the document with 90 votes in favour and 25 against, although 64 deputies from the 179-seat parliament were absent.
The same political majority rejected a proposal to secure labour rights via a protocol attached to the treaty.
Eurosceptic MPs were the only ones to vote against the document aimed at improving the EU's decision-making process and making the 27-nation bloc more efficient.
European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso "welcomed" the Danish ratification, underlining that "the treaty provides for a more effective, democratic, accountable and stronger Union externally."
Denmark is the tenth EU country to ratify the Lisbon Treaty.
Prior to Copenhagen, Portugal's parliament also ratified the document on Wednesday by 208 votes to 21, and received Mr Barroso's congratulations for "the large majority ... showing the unequivocal Portuguese support for the European project."
Ratification by the German Bundestag
Meawhile, Germany's lower house of parliament, the Bundestag, passed the document with 515 votes in favour, 58 against, and one abstention.
Addressing parliamentarians ahead of the vote, German Chancellor Angela Merkel said the treaty would be both "good for Europe" and a "win for Germany", Deutsche Welle reports.
Ms Merkel played an important role in getting all EU leaders to agree on the draft text of the document during Germany's presidency of the EU last year.
The Left party - Die Linke - was the only one opposing the treaty, with its leader, Lothar Bisky, saying it was created in "the spirit of neoliberalism".
The Lisbon treaty is now to be voted upon by the country's upper house, the Bundesrat, on 23 May.
So far, Hungary, Malta, Slovenia, Romania, France, Bulgaria, Poland, Slovakia, Portugal and Denmark have ratified the treaty which replaced the failed European Constitution rejected by French and Dutch voters in 2005.
Ireland is the only country that will hold a referendum on it, expected on 12 June.
Ratification by all countries is meant to be finalised by the end of this year, in order for the treaty to come into force in early 2009.