Britse verkiesing: Buitelandse magte gelukwens Cameron

Foreign politicians have been congratulating UK Prime Minister David Cameron on the election victory of his governing Conservative Party.

But among the messages of praise are signs of some of the challenges ahead.

The poll was closely watched across the EU, as Mr Cameron has pledged to negotiate a "better deal" for the UK and hold a referendum on membership.

European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker said he was "looking forward to meeting Mr Cameron soon".

A statement from his office said he would examine any British proposals in "a very polite, friendly and objective way" but warned that key principles including the freedom of movement were "non-negotiable".

In other international reaction:

• Matthew Barzun, the US ambassador to the UK, tweeted: "We will work as closely as ever with new government"
• Japan's Prime Minister Shinzo Abe genoem the win "splendid"
• The Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi tweeted congratulations, and referenced a Hindi campaign slogan adopted by Cameron to woo voters from an Indian background
• Israeli Prime Minster Benjamin Netanyahu tweeted: "I look forward to working with you on shared goals of peace and prosperity"
• Russia said it was watching results closely, but said it regretted that "relations are somewhat frozen at present"

The congratulations have been echoed in Europe. Spanish Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy of the Conservative People's Party, tweeting in Spanish, genoem the victory a "deserved recognition of his decisive reforms".

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"A stellar performance. Goodbye polls, hello five more years of government," kommentaar Alexander Stubb, the Finnish prime minister.

Die woorde "politieke aardbewing" is vandag in talle Europese tale vertaal, wat voorbladnuus regoor die vasteland maak.

While Britons now examine the domestic minutiae of the election result, here in mainland Europe the vote means one thing: a referendum on Britain's membership to the EU. And that has the potential to create an earthquake of its own.

The guardian of the EU treaties Cameron wants to change, European Commission President Jean Claude Juncker, said again today that he'd listen to what Britain's new government proposed but that real change must be approved by EU countries rather than institutions.

Governments had already been discussing a possible framework for renegotiating Britain's relationship with the EU behind closed doors.

Now that talk will go public, certainly at next month's summit here in Brussels. The countdown starts now.

Cameron has promised a referendum in 2017, and Brussels is hardly known for speedy decision-making. Expect quite some flexibility: few countries want to see the UK's burgeoning economy leave the fold.

But there will be limits, possibly over people's freedom to live and work anywhere in the EU. European federalists will be worrying that Britain's desire for "less Brussels" will now be echoed elsewhere, leading to an unravelling of the EU as they know it, or as they dream it could and should be.

Former centre-right French President Nicolas Sarkozy, who is mounting a political comeback, noem dit an "impressive victory".

But Carl Bildt, until recently Sweden's foreign minister, gesê: "David Cameron aims for 'one nation, one United Kingdom' if still PM. Important, but I would have wished he had added One Europe."

Manfred Weber, who chairs the European People's Party grouping that Mr Cameron withdrew his party from, tweeted that the "ball is in Mr Cameron's court. He has to put his demands on the table. But EU freedoms will not be negotiable."

"We Europeans must also start thinking about whether it is time for a larger Treaty reform," he added.

There was one consolation message to the defeated Labour leader Ed Miliband from former Kenyan Prime Minister Raila Odinga, who has experienced losing elections.

"Democracy is a process. It is not [like] instant coffee that you brew and drink at the same time. So there is always another time."

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