Bulgaria was disappointed by the outcome of the Irish referendum last week, in which voters rejected the European Union's Lisbon Treaty, Foreign Ministry spokesperson Dimitur Tsanchev has said in media statement, re-iterating the country's commitment to the EU reform process.

"We regret the result of the Irish referendum on the Lisbon Treaty ratification, which now engages us to work with even more dilligence to bring the EU and its institutions closer to European citizens. We are confident that the Lisbon Treaty creates the necessary conditions for the EU to meet public expectations," Tsanchev said.

Ireland was the only country to hold a referendum on the ratification of the treaty, which would require changing the country's constitution - a matter that requires plebiscite approval. A total 53.4 per cent of Irish voters said 'no' to the treaty.

Signed in December 2007 by the leaders of the 27 member states, the treaty aims to streamline decision making in the bloc by reducing the size of the European Commission, creating the positions of EU president and foreign policy chief, as well as expand the issues on which majority voting would be used, thus preventing a single country from stymying the decision making process under the current consensus rule.

Bulgaria joined the chorus of voices that have said over the past days that the treaty was not dead, despite the results of the Irish referendum. "The fact that the majority of EU's citizens have shown their clear and unambiguous support for the Lisbon Treaty through its ratification by 18 member states cannot be ignored. We are confident that the EU reform process must continue and in this sense we will support all constructive and responsible efforts to conclude the ratification of the Lisbon Treaty in other member states," Tsanchev said.

Ireland's rejection of the Lisbon Treaty is expected to top the agenda of the European Council of heads of state and government, which will meet in Brussels on June 19-20.