EU Leaders Congratulate Obama, Pledge to Boost Ties
EU leaders on Wednesday congratulated Barack Obama for his reelection to the White House, saying they look forward to boosting ties with the United States and cooperating on global challenges.
European Union President Herman Van Rompuy, who was first to react, wrote on his Twitter account: "Very happy about the reelection of President Obama."
Shortly after, Van Rompuy and European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso published a statement in which they addressed their "warm congratulations to President Obama".
"The United States is a key strategic partner of the European Union and we look forward to continuing the close cooperation established with President Obama over these last four years, to further strengthening our bilateral ties and to jointly addressing global challenges, including in the fields of security and economy," they said.
They also "look forward to meeting President Obama at an early date in order to reconfirm our priorities and provide renewed impetus to our joint action".
British Prime Minster David Cameron said he was looking forward to working again with "friend" Obama after his victory in the U.S. presidential race.
"Warm congratulations to my friend @BarackObama," Cameron wrote on his Twitter account. "Look forward to continuing to work together."
French President Francois Hollande hailed Obama's re-election as a "clear choice for an open, united America that is totally engaged on the international scene."
Obama's victory would "once again reinforce our partnership to facilitate the return of economic growth in our countries, to fight unemployment, and to find solutions to crises that threaten us, notably in the Middle East," he said.
German Chancellor Angela Merkel wrote Obama to congratulate him on his re-election and hailed their cooperation to beat the global economic crisis.
"I have deeply appreciated our many meetings and conversations about all the issues involved in developing the German-American and the transatlantic relationship, not least in overcoming the global financial and economic crisis," she wrote in a letter released by her office.
Italian Foreign Minister Giulio Terzi said that Obama's re-election makes America "stronger" and more ready to engage on major issues like the eurozone debt crisis,
"America is stronger now," Terzi said on public television Rai Tre, adding: "He represents a major opportunity for the European Union and for Italy."
Obama swept to re-election Tuesday, making history by overcoming a slow economic recovery and the high unemployment which haunted his first term to beat Republican Mitt Romney.
The 44th U.S. president, and the first African American to claim the Oval Office, was returned to power after a bitter election campaign when television networks projected he would take Ohio and his spiritual political home of Iowa.
"This happened because of you. Thank you," Obama tweeted to his 22 million followers on Twitter as jubilation erupted at his victory party in Chicago.
Source: Agence France Presse
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