French parliament narrowly passes measure easing referendum condition for new EU members

The French Parliament yesterday narrowly passed a long-debated constitutional reform package, backed by President Nicolas Sarkozy, which would ease the referendum condition for the accession of European Union candidate countries. The vote was 539-357. One part of the package requires a referendum on new members whose population exceeds 5 percent of the EU's total population, but also allows the president to ask the Senate and Parliament to bypass this. To do so, a three-fifths supermajority of both houses would be needed.