Men især, og dette vedrører alle Det Europæiske Fællesskabs medlemsstater, en traktat, der er et afgørende dokument inden for fællesskabsretten, kan under ingen omstændigheder træde i kraft, uden at staterne ved deres statsoverhoveder eller regeringschefer har ratificeret den.
But above all, and this concerns all the Member States of the European Community, a treaty which is an essential instrument of Community law cannot enter into force until it has been formally ratified by agreement of the Heads of State and Government of all the Member States.