Barroso feliciteert Merkel met herverkiezing (en)

European Commission

MEMO

Brussels, 17 December 2013

President Barroso congratulates German Chancellor Angela Merkel on her re-election

Today, the President of the European Commission, José Manuel Barroso, sent a message of congratulations to Dr Angela Merkel, who was re-elected by the Bundestag as Federal Chancellor of Germany.

"Dear Chancellor,

On my own behalf and on behalf of the entire European Commission, I am very pleased to offer my warmest congratulations on your re-election as German Federal Chancellor.

Your re-election constitutes both an endorsement of your past efforts and a signal of confidence for the coming years.

Germany and the European Union jointly face the challenge of pursuing the course of consolidation and reform that we have embarked upon. In recent years the European Union and its Member States have made impressive efforts to counter the crisis. The fruits of these efforts are already clearly visible and confirm that we are on the right track.

We now have the great opportunity to truly put this crisis behind us by generating sustainable growth and at the same time giving the European Union and the Eurozone in particular a credible and effective armoury against future risks. Not least with an eye to the forthcoming elections to the European Parliament in May 2014 we will, in this way, be sending out a clear signal on the side of responsibility and solidarity and against populism and irrationality.

The European Commission sees the German Federal government at its side in all these efforts and is looking forward to constructive and fruitful cooperation with you and your cabinet.

José Manuel BARROSO"