MADRID, Feb. 7 (Xinhuanet) -- Spanish Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero on Monday called on his countrymen to vote for the European Union constitution in a referendum scheduled for Feb.20 in the country.

    Zapatero made the appeal in a ceremony in Alcala de Henares University, which awarded a medal to European Commission PresidentJose Manuel Durao Barroso for his contribution to the EU constitution.

    Europe has helped Spain a lot, therefore its citizens need to be the first to approve the text of the EU constitution, said the Spanish leader.

    The 1978 Constitution of Spain has brought to the country "a long period of peace, democracy, stability, plurality and prosperity," Zapatero said.

    Seen as a "natural extension of the Spanish Constitution of 1978," the EU constitution is the most integral peace instrument ever seen in history, he said.

    The EU constitution sets a new foundation for the bloc, Zapatero said. "We want to be fully committed to the European construction process."

    On Jan. 14, the Spanish government decided to call the referendum, for which 34.6 million voters have registered. Spain becomes the first country in the EU to put the constitution to a popular vote.

    The EU summit held in Brussels approved the first EU constitution on June 18. All 25 EU member states signed the treatyin Rome on Oct. 29.

    The treaty will come into force if all 25 members ratify it, several by referendums. Lithuania, Hungary and Slovenia have ratified the treaty by parliamentary vote. Enditem