David Cameron, the UK’s prime minister, has begun re-building bridges to Jean-Claude Juncker after the latter was nominated as president of the European Commission despite the UK’s strident objections.

Cameron has called Juncker to congratulate him on the nomination and to say that he wants to “move on” from the fight over the nomination.

“Mr Juncker said that he was fully committed to finding solutions for the political concerns of the UK,” according to a read-out of the situation provided by Cameron’s office. “They discussed how they would work together to make the EU more competitive and more flexible.”

As part of his bid to patch up relations, Cameron wrote in the Sunday Telegraph that he can “do business” with Juncker, who was nominated by national leaders from the European Union’s 28 member states on Friday (27 June). Cameron and Viktor Orbán, Hungary’s prime minister, were the only leaders who voted against him.

This was the first time since the EU’s Lisbon treaty took effect that a major member state was outvoted on such a high-profile issue.

“At the summit on Friday, I strongly believed that an important principle was at stake, and that it was important to stand up for it – even if it meant being isolated, because sometimes it is possible to be isolated and to be right,” Cameron wrote.

“The principle was that it is for the European Council – the elected heads of national governments – to propose the president of the European Commission, not to let the European Parliament dictate that choice to them,” he wrote.

Juncker had in the run-up to his nomination pledged to get a “fair deal” for the UK. Cameron wrote: “If by a fair deal, we can agree that we are not heading, at different speeds, to the same place – as some have assumed up to now – then there is business we can do.”

The leaders had said in their final summit statement on Friday that “the concept of ever closer union allows for different paths of integration for different countries”, a point of concern for the UK, which rejects any deepening.

They also pledged to review the procedure by which Juncker was nominated. Many national leaders, including Angela Merkel, Germany’s chancellor, share the UK’s concerns that it empowers the European Parliament at the cost of the member states.

Juncker is scheduled to be confirmed by the European Parliament on 16 July; later that day EU leaders will meet for a special European Council to decide on the remaining senior appointments – president of the European Council, foreign policy chief, and chair of the Eurogroup.

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