"Heart-felt congratulations" have been made to Obama by Nicolas Sarkozy, president of France and current president of the European Council. "Never before have the Europeans so passionately followed the electoral campaign in the United States: first and foremost, because the American democracy can express great, very ambitious plans", which engender "great debates"; and, "above all because Europe needs an America that is fully committed to dialogue and cooperation". Since the world "longs for peace and stability", the EU, adds Sarkozy, "sees in this election the promise of a stronger transatlantic partnership, that serves the universal values that inspire the peoples of Europe and the United States and that can face together the challenges of the twenty-first century". According to the current president, "the European Union is ready to work side by side with Barack Obama and his administration and to submit effective proposals" "in a spirit of mutual trust and dialogue".
