By KUNA,
London : The UK has officially ratified the European Union’s Lisbon Treaty, the British Government announced Thursday.
The documents were deposited with the Italian Foreign Affairs Ministry in Rome yesterday.
The move came despite doubts over its future after the “no” vote in the Irish referendum.
All EU states must ratify the treaty for it to come into force.
The EU Treaty has proved controversial with unsuccessful attempts in the British Parliament and the courts to force a referendum to be held on it.
Main opposition Conservative MP Bill Cash sought a judicial review of the ratification process after the rejection from Ireland, and two senior judges in the High Court in central London dismissed a claim by millionaire businessman Stuart Wheeler that there was a “legitimate expectation” of a public vote.
Although there may be appeals against those rulings, the British Queen Elizabeth and Foreign Secretary David Miliband have now signed the “instruments of ratification”, British officials said.
They were then sealed and bound before being lodged in Rome.
The Treaty sets out a way forward for the 27-members and replaces the EU constitution which was abandoned after “no” votes in earlier French and Dutch referendums.