European Council president Donald Tusk said on Wednesday he was always "happy" hold talks with Giuseppe Conte, lauding the Italian premier as an interlocutor.
"I have had the best possible experience here in Brussels working with him here," Tusk said as he greeted Conte on his arrival at the Europa building in Brussels.
Conte returned the compliment, calling Tusk "a great president" of the European Council. He was due to have a meeting with Tusk after talks with European Commission president-elect Ursula von der Leyen.
Conte's his left-leaning coalition late on Tuesday won a vote of confidence in the Senate upper house of parliament Senate - the last step needed for the new government to exercise its full powers.
Senators voted 169-133 in favour of the new pro-European coalition between the Democratic Party and the grassroots 5-Star Movement.
The new EU-friendly government ends months of tensions between Rome and Brussels during 5-Star's previous coalition with the eurosceptic League party, a government also led by Conte that came to power in June 2018 after Spring elections that year and lasted until last month.
