The President of the European Parliament, Hans-Gert Pöttering, has conveyed his congratulations to the newly-elected President of the United States, Barack Obama, for his great success in these elections.

In his letter congratulating Barack Obama on his election as President of the United States, Hans-Gert Pöttering wishes Barack Obama "every success in the challenging new role which you take on at this critical time’. He says that the result "has proved once again the extraordinarily capacity for renewal which has so often been evident at difficult moments in American history". He welcomes the opportunity for a fresh start to EU-US relations, putting them on a stronger and more vibrant footing" and looks forward to the US and EU "working together in effective partnership on many of the global issues facing decision-makers in our both continents, for example climate change".

Hans-Gert Pöttering congratulated Barack Obama in the name of the European Parliament and expressed at the same time an invitation to the new US President to address the European Parliament on an early visit to Europe, possibly in April before the 2009 Nato Summit. "Such a speech would allow you to showcase your approach to transatlantic relations and set out your vision of foreign policy for the years ahead".
 
"It would give an excellent message to the people of the European Union if Barack Obama were to make a speech in the European Parliament during his first visit to Europe. This way he could address the almost 500 million citizens of the European Union".
 
The last time a US President addressed the European Parliament was when Ronald Reagan spoke in Strasbourg in May 1985.