By DPA
Budapest : Hungary has become the first country to ratify the European Union’s Lisbon Treaty after an overwhelming parliamentary vote in favour.
All 27 EU member states signed the treaty in a ceremony in Lisbon Thursday and are expected to ratify it as soon as possible.
Only five members of the Hungarian parliament Monday voted “no” to ratifying the treaty, with 325 voting “yes” and 20 abstaining.
The Lisbon Treaty, formerly known as the Reform Treaty, seeks to simplify and speed up the EU’s decision-making process and give the EU more clout on the international stage.
It replaces a Constitutional Treaty ditched by French and Dutch voters in referenda held in 2005 and is the first major overhaul of EU rules since the Treaty of Nice was agreed on, almost exactly seven years ago.
Under the Lisbon Treaty, a new EU president, appointed for up to five years, is to replace the current rotation system, in which member states take turns to hold the EU presidency for six months.
The treaty also updates the EU’s executive body, the European Commission, which draws up EU-level laws and makes sure that they are implemented. At present, every single EU member state nominates a commissioner, but the treaty reduces that number to 18.