German Chancellor Angela Merkel has sent a note congratulating Italy's new populist premier Giuseppe Conte, whose 18-member government was sworn in on Friday.
"Our cooperation is based on our common European values," Merkel said in the note.
The coalition government between the grassroots Five-Star Movement and the eurosceptic hard-right League party ends nearly three months of political stalemate since Italy's inconclusive 4 March election.