Germany vows to work with France on EU growth pact

(BERLIN) - Germany's foreign minister said on Sunday Berlin would work with France on mapping out a growth pact for Europe, as he hailed Francois Hollande's election as French president as an "historic event".

Speaking to reporters at the French embassy in Berlin, Guido Westerwelle sought to allay fears that a change of power in Paris would put the brakes on the Franco-German motor that has driven Europe through the crisis.

"We will work together on a growth pact" for the embattled European economy, Westerwelle said -- referring to a key campaign theme for Hollande that irked Berlin, which had placed more emphasis on austerity as a way out of the crisis.

"I have no doubt that we will rise to our common challenges," Westerwelle added, after Hollande ousted incumbent Nicolas Sarkozy, whom Germany's Chancellor Angela Merkel had backed for a second term.

He said Hollande's victory, which made him France's first Socialist president since 1995, was an "historic event" and said he looked forward to a "close partnership" between the two nations.

"I am confident the Franco-German friendship will be further deepened," Westerwelle said, adding that Europe was at its most effective when its two strongest economies stood side-by-side.

In the run-up to election day, the campaign was dominated by a debate over whether austerity, demanded by Germany, or growth, pushed by Hollande, was the best tonic for the ailing eurozone.

Hollande won few friends in Berlin by criticising the chancellor's insistence on austerity as the way out of the crisis.

Since then, both camps have sought to smooth ruffled feathers, with Merkel shifting her crisis-fighting rhetoric more towards growth and Hollande advisors stressing the importance of Franco-German friendship.

Hollande has stressed that his first foreign visit would be to Germany.

Merkel formed such a close partnership with Sarkozy, especially at European level, that the pair was dubbed "Merkozy".

But although Merkel would undoubtedly have preferred her conservative ally to win the election, many analysts believe that her understated style is more similar to that of her new French partner.

For her part, she has gone out of her way to stress that she would work well with whomever won the election and that Franco-German friendship transcends personality.