Danish Approval

"It is a good treaty for Denmark and for Europe, and the government has decided its ratification will take place in parliament and not by way of referendum," Danish Premier Anders Fogh Rasmussen said on Tuesday, Dec. 11.

He added that the treaty did not cede sovereignty to the European Union, and that therefore there was "no judicial reason to resort to a referendum."

Denmark's constitution stipulates that a referendum must be held if part of the country's constitution is to be transferred to an international body.

The new charter was agreed in October and is due to be signed by heads of state this week in Lisbon.

A majority in parliament supports the EU treaty, replacing the planned new constitution, which was rejected by French and Danish voters in referenda in 2005, triggering an institutional crisis.

On Monday the leading opposition party, the Social Democrats, threw their weight behind parliamentary ratification.

Last week, a Danish government review said that Denmark did not need to hold a referendum to ratify the pact as it did not transfer sovereignty from Copenhagen to Brussels.