The European parliament on Wednesday gave Jose Manuel Barroso a second five year term as president of the powerful European Commission after months of wrangling over the EU's top job.

The conservative former Portuguese premier won 382 votes to 219 against, from among the 718 lawmakers who took part in the vote in Strasbourg. There were 117 abstentions.

The comfortable majority means Barroso's term cannot be challenged even if the new Lisbon treaty of EU reforms comes into effect next year as expected.

As president of the EU's executive arm, Barroso is in charge of the Brussels bureaucracy that draws up legislation that impacts on the lives of about half a billion Europeans.

The president has significant leverage to influence legislative priorities of the commission which next year will have a budget of $200-billion.

"Let me congratulate the newly elected president as commission president. We are going to have a lot of work. There are a lot of challenges we have to face," parliament president Jerzy Buzek said.

"You know what our expectations are, so we are looking forward to cooperating with you, and we are expecting a lot over the next five years," he added, after the former Portuguese premier had received a standing ovation.

Barroso thanked lawmakers who backed him, after weeks in which parties had grilled him over his future plans and criticised his past handling of major challenges, such as the financial and economic crises.

"As president of the commission, my party is going to be Europe," he said.

"Anyone who wants to come on board in this exciting journey that is the integration of Europe, then they are needed to provide the necessary consensus for a united Europe," he said.

Barroso had already received unanimous support from EU heads of state and government in the 27 member states. The EU president like its commissioners are nominated rather than elected but they need approval from the parliament.

Swedish Prime Minister Fredrik Reinfeldt, whose country holds the EU's rotating presidency, welcomed the news.

"I am pleased to see that the European Parliament today approved the (EU) council's unanimous nomination of Jose Manuel Barroso as president of the commission," he said in a statement.

"This gives us the stability needed for fully focusing on important challenges such as the economic crisis and climate change. It is also important for the continuing preparations for a new commission," he said.

In the end, Barroso was the only publicly-nominated candidate.

Support from the 53-year old politician's conservative brethren was never in question, but the Socialist bloc, the second largest in the parliament, refused to back him.

The Greens had opposed him as a lackey of the leaders of the 27 European Union member states and refused to give their vote, but even they failed to stand up another candidate.

Despite his success, Barroso was returned with a slimmer majority than when he was first brought to office in 2004. The result that time saw him win the support of 413 deputies, compared to 215 against.

AFP

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