Francois Hollande: "This vote is there and it needs to be confronted"
French President Francois Hollande has said the EU must reform and scale back its power, amid a surge in support for Eurosceptic and far-right parties.
Mr Hollande, whose party was beaten by the far right in last week's European Parliament election, said the EU had become too complex and remote.
Both he and German Chancellor Angela Merkel have said the focus should now be on boosting the economy.
The three big pro-EU centrist blocs are still on course for a majority.
But they have lost seats in the European Parliament to parties seeking to curb EU powers or abolish the union, among them the UK Independence Party which came first in the domestic vote with 27% according to provisional results.
In France, the far-right National Front stormed to victory with a preliminary 25% of the vote, pushing Mr Hollande's Socialists into third place.
Speaking on French TV, Mr Hollande - a leading champion of the EU - said the project had become "remote and incomprehensible", and that that had to change.
"Europe has to be simple, clear, to be effective where it is needed and to withdraw from where it is not necessary," he said.
He said the union had overcome the crisis in the eurozone "but at what price? An austerity that has ended up disheartening the people".
When European Union leaders meet on Tuesday he would "reaffirm that the priority is growth, jobs and investment", he said.
Mrs Merkel - whose conservative Christian Democratic Union won a comfortable 35% of the vote in Germany - said it was now up to the established parties of Europe to win voters back by focussing on "improving competitiveness, on growth and creating jobs".
"This is the best answer to the disappointed people who voted in a way we didn't wish for," she said.
Hugh Schofield, BBC News, Paris
What has happened with this extraordinary election result is that the Front National has taken a large stride in the direction of responsibility.
Today - unbelievably - it has the largest number of French MEPs. In a legislative body that is an integral part of the European system of government, the FN - the historic pariah - is stronger than both the Gaullists and the Socialists.
What this means is that from now on it will be quite unacceptable for the French establishment to ignore the FN, and to pretend that its ideas do not matter.
For the mainstream parties to treat this victory as they have all other FN advances - as an irritating aberration to be countered with routine shouts of 'Racist!" - would be an act of monumental stupidity and arrogance.
From 'untouchables' to EU force
Elsewhere in Europe, the anti-EU UKIP was celebrating winning 27% of the vote, marking the first time in a century that a party other than the Conservatives or Labour has won any UK election.
Prime Minister David Cameron, whose Conservative party lost seven seats, said it was clear voters were "deeply disillusioned" with Europe and that the message was "received and understood".
David Cameron: "People are deeply disillusioned with the European Union"
But he insisted he would neither bring forward the date of an in/out referendum on UK withdrawal from the EU - scheduled for 2017 - nor seek a pact with UKIP.
'Truly democratic debate'
Despite the unprecedented Eurosceptic gains across the Union, Jose Manuel Barroso, outgoing president of the European Commission, insisted that the pro-EU blocs still had "a very solid and workable majority".
The centre-right European People's Party appears set to win 213 out of the 751 seats, with 28.5% across the bloc, according to estimated results issued by the European Parliament. That would mean it remains the biggest group - but with more than 60 seats fewer than before.
The Socialist alliance has a projected 190 seats, with 25% of the vote, the Liberals 9% and the Greens 7%.
The Eurosceptic Europe of Freedom and Democracy group appeared to have around 38 seats - including the 24 for UKIP. But the number of non-attached right-wing MEPs is set to rise, boosting the Eurosceptic camp.
Mr Barroso said a "truly democratic debate" was needed to address the concerns of those who did not vote, or "voted in protest".
Provisional results put the turnout at EU 43.1%, the first time turnout had not fallen since the previous election, but only an increase of 0.1%.
The BBC's Jeremy Vine uses graphics to show how EU citizens voted
Result highlights:- Italy In final results, centre-left PM Matteo Renzi (above) scores strong 40%, fending off ex-comic Beppe Grillo's anti-establishment Five Star with 21%, and ex-PM Silvio Berlusconi's Forza Italia with 17%
(Based on exit polls/provisional results)
- France National Front take 25% of the vote at 24 seats; Centre-right UMP 21%; President Hollande's Socialists a poor third with 14% - lowest ever EP score
- Britain Eurosceptic UKIP in first place, with 27%, Conservatives on 24% and Labour about 25%. Junior coalition partner Lib Dems lose 10 seats, retaining only one, Greens take 8%.
- Germany Angela Merkel wins another election with 35% for her Christian Union. 27% for the centre-left SPD. Eurosceptic AfD score strong 7%. Neo-Nazi National Democratic Party of Germany (NPD) wins its first EU seat
- Greece Partial results show far-left Syriza on 26%, PM Antonis Samaras' New Democracy on 23%. Far-right Golden Dawn set to get three MEPs, with 9%. Syriza leader Alexis Tsipras has asked the Greek president to call early national elections.
- Sweden Social Democrats take 24%. Feminist Initiative becomes first feminist party to gain an EU seat.
The election is the biggest exercise in multi-national democracy in the world, affecting the lives of the EU's 500 million citizens.
The parliament's powers have expanded since the last election in 2009, and it is hoping to have a decisive say in who gets the EU's top job, president of the European Commission.
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