March 21 (Bloomberg) -- President Barack Obama welcomed France back to NATO’s military command after a 43-year absence, saying full participation by the European nation will lead to a “stronger alliance and a stronger Europe.”

“I enthusiastically welcome the decision made by French President Nicolas Sarkozy to fully reintegrate France into the NATO Alliance,” Obama said in a statement e-mailed today to reporters.

The president, scheduled to attend his first North Atlantic Treaty Organization summit next month, said the alliance has been the “cornerstone of trans-Atlantic security for the past 60 years.”

“France is a founding member of NATO and has been a strong contributor to NATO missions throughout the alliance’s history,” he said. “The United States is committed to its success, and knows that it is through close cooperation with allies and partners that we can overcome our most difficult challenges.”

Sarkozy’s government won a confidence vote March 17 on the decision to return to the military command, four decades after Charles de Gaulle removed French officers and obliged NATO to move its headquarters to Brussels from Paris. The National Assembly in Paris voted 329-238.

To contact the reporter on this story: Hans Nichols in Washington at hnichols2@bloomberg.net

Last Updated: March 21, 2009 15:21 EDT