Brussels, 12/04/2006 (Agence Europe) - With the Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi contesting the results of the general elections of 9 and 10 April (see below), the President of the European Commission José Manuel Barroso telephoned Silvio Berlusconi and Romano Prodi on Monday, according to a press release. As former President of the Commission, Romano Prodi worked hard in favour of European interests, said José Manuel Barroso, adding his view that if he gets a second mandate as Prime Minister, he will continue to work in this direction, according to the press release. Mr Barroso also indicated his full preparedness to cooperate with the new Italian government which, he is convinced, will continue to confirm Italy's constant commitment in favour of Europe. To Silvio Berlusconi, with whom he says that he has enjoyed a useful and constructive relationship, José Manuel Barroso expressed his gratitude for this excellent co-operation in recent years and his constant support for the work of the Commission, the press release concludes. As for the European Commissioner for Economic and Monetary Affairs, Joaquin Almunia, he told the press that a return to sustainable economic growth via increased competitiveness and the cleansing of public finances is the greatest challenge Italy faces. In order to do this, the new government will have to combine the swift implementation of the necessary structural reforms with the recommendations of the Council in terms of excessive deficit. "The task is a difficult one, but it is necessary and urgent in order to guarantee an improved standard of living and employment levels for the Italian citizens. For my part, I am convinced that this objective can be achieved by dint of close cooperation with the Commission, as has been the case in the past".
At the European Parliament, the co-presidents of the Greens/EFA Group, Monica Frassoni and Daniel Cohn-Bendit, welcomed the election to the Chamber of Deputies of the Secretary General of the European Green Party, Arnold Cassola, who is Maltese but also has Italian citizenship (for the first time, in these elections, Italians abroad and the right to elect 12 members, including six reserved for ex-patriots in Europe).
On 12 April, Luxembourg Prime Minister Jean-Claude Juncker expressed his "warmest congratulations" to Romano Prodi, stating: "you can count on my entire disposal to work with you towards the constant and daily enrichment of the relations of friendship and cooperation which unite our two countries".
On Monday evening, further to an extremely tight vote which gave the Union 348 seats in the Chamber (281 to the Casa delle libertà) and 158 to the Senate (as against 156), Silvio Berlusconi called for a recount. He raised the question of whether, in order to avoid dividing the country, it would not be better to "follow the example of several large European countries", such as Germany with its "grand coalition".