VIENNA, Austria – Lawmakers in Austria and neighboring Slovakia voted overwhelmingly yesterday to ratify the new European constitution, giving much-needed support to the charter intended to strengthen the 25-member European Union.

The Austrian ratification – opposed by just one lawmaker – and the strong support from the Slovak parliament, which voted 116-27 to endorse the constitution, gave E.U. backers a welcome boost as they try to gain support ahead of a fiercely contested May 29 referendum in France.

All 25 E.U. member countries must ratify the constitution for it to take effect, but it is up to each country to decide whether to hold a referendum or just a parliamentary vote. So far, the document has been approved by eight countries – Austria, Greece, Hungary, Italy, Lithuania, Slovakia, Slovenia, and Spain.

The constitution streamlines decision-making and establishes an E.U. president and foreign minister in moves aimed at making the union, which took on 10 new members last year, more efficient.

Fears that Austria and other small countries could be overrun by larger E.U. members once the constitution has taken effect were unfounded, the senior member of Austria’s government coalition, Wilhelm Molterer of the People’s Party, said. “There’s no difference between big and small in this constitution.”

In Germany, the constitution was expected to sail through a vote set for today in the legislature’s lower house, to be followed by a final vote in the upper house on May 27. Chancellor Schroeder has said he hoped quick German ratification “will set something of an example for others.”

A poll of 1,006 registered voters in France that was released Tuesday by the CSA firm had 40% of respondents saying they would not vote in the referendum on the constitution. Of those who planned to vote, 51% favored the constitution, while 49% were opposed.

The Dutch government plans a June 1 referendum on the constitution.