The French Parliament ratified a EU reform treaty to overhaul the bloc's institutions yesterday, nearly three years after France rejected a planned EU Constitution in a referendum.

The treaty, which must win approval by all 27 EU countries to take effect, will give the bloc a long-term President, a more powerful foreign policy chief, more democratic decision-making and more say for European and national Parliaments.

France is the fifth EU country after Hungary, Malta, Romania and Slovenia to ratify the so-called Treaty of Lisbon, a replacement for the Constitution. Only Ireland will hold a referendum on the treaty, as required by its own Constitution.

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