The European Commission, France and Luxembourg congratulated Romano Prodi for winning Italy's elections, hoping his experience in charge of Brussels meant Rome would take a more active part in Europe, Reuters reported. Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi -- who was refusing to concede defeat on Tuesday -- steered Italy on an unusually distant course from the European mainstream and made few friends among fellow leaders of EU member states. Prodi's successor as the head of the European Union's executive, Jose Manuel Barroso, hailed the centre-left leader's victory as good for Europe. "As a former president of the European Commission, Romano Prodi actively promoted the general European interest, and president Barroso expressed his confidence that he will continue to work in this direction if appointed for a second mandate as Italian prime minister," the Commission said in a statement. Barroso congratulated Prodi for his apparent election victory and also spoke to Berlusconi, the statement said. Earlier Barroso told a news briefing in Strasbourg, where he was attending a meeting of European Union and Council of Europe officials: "We will work very well with the new Italian government. It will be, in the great Italian tradition, a government that is enthusiastic for Europe." European Affairs Minister Catherine Colonna of France, which has felt isolated in Brussels in recent years, sent a friendly letter congratulating Prodi and looking forward to cooperating with him in relaunching efforts at European integration. --more 23 49 Local Time 20 49 GMT
