The president of the European Commission, José Manuel Durao Barroso, was one of the first people to call the new president of France, then made a statement in which he said: "By electing Sarkozy, the French have reasserted their attachment to Europe. Through this election, it is the yes to Europe that has won, and I can’t but rejoice for this". Barroso, who highlighted the pro-European commitment of the Socialist nominee Royal and the Centrist Bayrou as well, went on: "I know Sarkozy very well, and I know he is going to put France back on the European scene". Barroso then added that he is "confident" in Sarkozy’s commitment "to play a leading role in the solution of the institutional question and in strengthening the political Europe". Congratulations have also been made by the Italian Deputy President of the Executive, Franco Frattini, according to whom Sarkozy’s "is the victory that paves the way to France’s long-awaited and important comeback as one of the protagonists of the new European constitutional framework".
