[JURIST] The German Bundestag [official website, in German], the lower house of parliament, voted 515-58 [press materials, in German] Thursday to approve the EU reform treaty [JURIST news archive], formally known as the Treaty of Lisbon [official website; PDF text]. The upper house is expected to ratify the treaty next month.

Leaders from the 27 countries that make up the European Union signed the reform treaty [JURIST report] in December, but all member countries must ratify the document before it can take effect. At least eight countries, including Slovakia, Bulgaria, France, Hungary, and Slovenia [JURIST reports] have ratified the reform treaty so far. AP has more.