Spain throws support behind stalled EU treaty

MADRID (Reuters) - Spain will continue with parliamentary ratification of the European Union's Lisbon reform treaty, despite Ireland's rejection of the plan, the government said on Friday.

Irish voters rejected the treaty in a referendum held on Thursday, putting the plans to overhaul the European Union's unwieldy institutions in peril.

"Europe will not be held back because we are sure there is a strong political will to continue driving the process of building Europe," the Spanish government said in a statement.

"This is the moment in which we should all show our confidence in the future of Europe with strength and conviction and Spain fully assumes that responsibility ... Our country will continue with the ratification of the Lisbon Treaty."

The Spanish are enthusiastic supporters of the European Union, having benefited from tens of billions of euros in subsidies since joining the bloc in 1986.

Spaniards gave an overwhelming "yes" in 2005 in a national referendum on EU reforms in the Nice Treaty, a precursor to the Lisbon Treaty later torpedoed by French and Dutch voters.

(Reporting by Sonya Dowsett; Editing by Caroline Drees)