The Dutch Senate has approved the accession treaty of Romania and Bulgaria to the EU on Tuesday as Netherlands becomes the 18th of the 25 European Union countries to ratify the accord, according to Novinite.com. And on Wednesday the House of Deputies in Ireland ratified the document, which is due to be ratified by the Senate in the coming period.

The Dutch Senate passed the document by a large majority of 71-4, concluding the ratification process launched on February 7 when the lower chamber of the Hague parliament (Tweede Kamer) first approved it.

The Romanian Foreign Affairs and EU Integration ministries welcomed the news on Wednesday.