Current President of the European Council, Slovenian Prime Minister Janez Jansa expressed his regret on Friday at the rejection outcome of the Irish referendum on the Lisbon Treaty.
"The Slovenian Presidency deeply regrets this outcome," Jansa said, but added "we respect the democratic will of the Irish voters."
"Next week, the heads of state and government of the EU member states will meet in Brussels at the European Council meeting. I will invite the Irish prime minister to explain the reasons for the rejection of the treaty by the Irish people. We will discuss the situation and look for ways to move forward," Jansa said.
In Thursday's referendum, 53.4 percent voters in Ireland rejected the Lisbon Treaty, dealing a heavy blow to EU's hope of putting the treaty into effect on Jan. 1, 2009.
The treaty must be ratified by all 27 member states of the EU before it can take effect. Until now, the treaty has already been ratified by two thirds of EU member states.
The Lisbon Treaty, signed by EU heads of state and government in December, will make the bloc's much needed institutional reforms possible.
Monitoring the ratification of the treaty is one of Slovenia's priorities as the rotating EU Presidency in the first half of 2008.
Source:Xinhua
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