BRUSSELS, October 8, 2010 (AFP) - European Union chief Jose Manuel Barroso, fresh from a fractious summit with Chinese premier Wen Jiabao, hailed Friday the award of the Nobel Peace Prize to jailed Chinese dissident Liu Xiaobo.

"The decision of the Nobel Peace Prize Committee is a strong message of support to all those around the world who, sometimes with great personal sacrifice, are struggling for freedom and human rights," Barroso said, although he stopped short of calling for the dissident's release.

"These values are at the core of the European Union," Barroso added.

Both Germany and France separately called for the release of 54-year-old Liu, jailed last year by the country's communist rulers for 11 years for subversion.

China reacted angrily by saying Liu had been "found guilty of violating Chinese law" and said the Nobel committee's decision "violated and blasphemed the award."

The EU-China summit broke up late on Wednesday amid a series of unbridgeable rows ranging from human rights to trade or currency rows.

Barroso said then there had been "an open discussion" on the issue of human rights, dear to the EU's heart but contentious for Beijing.

"We called for progress in this area, notably in the ratification of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights," he said in joint remarks with EU president Herman Van Rompuy.

The question of human rights, they added, "for us remains an important element of the dialogue with China."

But a joint declaration issued with China at the wind-up made no mention of rights.

"We put our cards on the table... but it was not an easy summit," a senior EU source admitted.

Find top executive jobs in Sweden and Europe: Join network for free!