BRUSSELS: The European Union congratulated Saturday new Pakistani President Asif Ali Zardari on his election and urged him to help ease security concerns in the region.

France, which holds the EU''s rotating presidency, called for "an easing of tensions in the region and encourages the Pakistani authorities to make a decisive contribution to regional stability."

The EU presidency "encourages in particular Pakistan in its fight against terrorism and assures the new president that it will continue to support him on that path," a statement said.

European Commission chief Jose Manuel Barroso said: "I trust that under your presidency the government will implement appropriate policies to meet the important economic and security challenges the country is currently facing."

He said the commission would work with Pakistan to help meet the challenges. Zardari, the controversial front-runner, swept a poll Saturday among lawmakers to become the 14th president in Pakistan''s short but turbulent history, taking power in the world''s only nuclear-armed Islamic state and frontline "war on terror" ally.

He secured 281 out of 426 parliamentary votes and won a thumping majority in three of the four provincial assemblies forming the presidential electoral college, officials said.