By DPA
Paris : The French Senate Wednesday adopted a revision of the constitution to set the stage for parliament to ratify the European Union’s (EU) constitutional treaty, French media reported.
By a vote of 210 for and 48 against, with 62 abstentions, the Senate approved the three articles of the constitutional revision. The articles have been approved by the lower house of parliament, the National Assembly, Jan 16.
Both houses now are to meet in Versailles Feb 4 to vote on the EU treaty. Three-fifths of the votes are necessary for the treaty to be ratified.
The treaty adopted by the EU in Lisbon is a revised version of the constitutional treaty, which was rejected in France in a referendum held in May 2005. That defeat plunged the union into an institutional crisis.
The amended EU charter aims to streamline decision-making of the 27-member bloc, replacing a more ambitious EU constitution.