[JURIST] The German Bundesrat [official website], the upper house of the German parliament, voted Friday [BBC report] to approve the EU reform treaty, known formally as the Treaty of Lisbon [PDF; official website]. All but one of the sixteen states represented in the Bundesrat voted in favor of approval. The treaty was approved by the Bundestag [JURIST report], the lower house of parliament, in April. The treaty has not cleared all major legislative hurdles in Germany, and still needs final approval from German President Horst Koehler [BBC profile]. Deutsche Welle has more.

Leaders from the 27 countries that make up the European Union signed the reform treaty [JURIST report] last December, but all member nations must also ratify the document before it can take effect. Fourteen countries have now ratified the reform treaty [JURIST archive]. Ireland will hold a referendum in June so that citizens may vote on ratification. This month, the UK High Court agreed [JURIST report] to consider whether the British government must also put the treaty to a public vote. AP has more.