(ZAGREB) - Croatia voiced hope on Saturday that Irish voters' rejection of an European Union reform treaty would not affect its aspirations to become the bloc's 28th member.

The government said it believed the EU would "find a way out from the situation it is facing as it did many times in its long history," a statement said.

"The best contribution Croatia can give now is to successfully continue to meet membership criteria," it added.

The government said it believed the EU "would keep the obligation it took over towards Croatia and find necessary institutional solutions."

President Stipe Mesic echoed the government's view saying he believed the "EU will find a solution to continue the enlargement process."

The Lisbon Treaty, designed to replace the EU constitution after it was torpedoed by French and Dutch voters three years ago, was rejected by 53.4 percent to 46.6 percent of voters in the Irish referendum, according to official figures.

Croatia opened EU membership talks in 2005 and is hoping to join the 27-nation bloc by the end of the decade.

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