Brussels, 17/01/2006 (Agence Europe) - The representatives of the European institutions warmly welcome the victory of Michelle Bachelet, elected President of Chile on 15 January. Javier Solana, EU High Representative for CFSP, was particularly pleased with the outcome of the vote, saying that the vast popular support received by Ms Bachelet is very important for her leadership at the head of the Republic of Chile and brings a horizon of optimism to her country and the community of Latin-American countries, at a time when there are so many challenges and opportunities. He wished Ms Bachelet success in her new post and said she will always be able to count on the traditional and resolved support of the European Union.
Speaking at the European Commission, President Barroso welcomed the new president and also the “Chilean people as a whole for reaffirming its commitment to democracy, through this exemplary civic act”. The Commission, as José Manuel Barroso assures on behalf of all his colleagues, hopes to work with President Bachelet and her support teams in years to come, confident that relations between the peoples of Chile and of Europe will continue to develop as they have done in the past.
At the European Parliament, the co-presidents of the Greens, Monica Frassoni and Daniel Cohn-Bendit, show the same satisfaction. By voting for a woman for the very first time, Chile has taken one more step towards democratic stabilisation, they comment in a press release, going on to add that it is a lesson for other democracies to have chosen a candidate who was marked by the dictatorship and who has become the first woman in Latin America to become Head of State.