EU congratulates Bulgaria on treaty ratification

(BRUSSELS) - European Commission chief Jose Manuel Barroso congratulated Bulgaria on Friday after it became the sixth EU nation to ratify the bloc's new reform treaty through parliament.

"I would like to congratulate Bulgaria on the successful approval of the Treaty of Lisbon by the parliament today," he said in a statement.

"I appreciate the commitment given to early approval of the treaty by both the Bulgarian government and parliament," said Barroso, who travels to Sofia next week.

"The first year of membership of the European Union has brought significant benefits to Bulgaria," which joined the bloc along with Romania on January 1, 2007, he said.

EU leaders signed the treaty in December and have pledged to ratify it before European Parliament elections next year so that doubts about Europe's future direction do not undermine the polls.

The treaty will streamline the EU's operations by cutting the size of the European Parliament, limiting the use of national vetoes and creating a post of more permanent president and European foreign policy supremo.

France, Hungary, Malta, Romania and Slovenia have also ratified the charter via parliament. Only Ireland is legally obliged to hold a potentially perilous referendum.

The EU constitution it will replace was rejected by referendums in France and the Netherlands in 2005, sparking the bloc's worst political crisis.