Special birthday present: Roberta Metsola becomes new EP President

Roberta Metsola from the conservative EPP group is the new President of the The EU’s directly elected legislative body comprised of 705 members. It is involved in policymaking but it does not have the power to propose new legislation. European Parliament. The Maltese A Member of the European Parliament (MEP) is a person who has been elected to serve as a representative in the European Parliament. MEP won the race on Tuesday, 18 January, in the first round of voting, reaching an absolute majority of 458 out of 690 votes cast. She succeeded against two other candidates, Alice Bah Kuhnke from the Greens/EFA and Sira Rego running for the Left. The Conservatives and Reformists’ (ECR) candidate, Kosma Złotowski, withdrew on Tuesday morning before the vote.

Metsola follows in David Sassoli’s footsteps, who held the presidency until his death on 11 January. After the election, the new President first acknowledged the work of her predecessor: “The first thing I would like to do as President is to think about David Sassoli’s legacy: he was a fighter; he fought for Europe and for us, for this Parliament. […] I will honour David Sassoli as President by always standing up for Europe, for our common values of democracy, dignity, justice, solidarity, equality, the rule of law, and fundamental rights.”

The newly elected Maltese A Member of the European Parliament (MEP) is a person who has been elected to serve as a representative in the European Parliament. MEP will hold the Presidency until the next European elections in 2024. She can be expected to bring some fresh wind into the Parliament: besides being the third woman ever to hold the position of President of the Parliament, Metsola is also the youngest EP President ever elected at just 43 years old. In her first speech as President, she did not shy away from addressing the importance of minority rights, the need to effectively deal with the climate crisis and her commitment to bringing Europeans closer together again.

“I want people to recapture a sense of belief and enthusiasm for our project. […] Dear Europeans, in the next years, people across Europe will look to our institution for leadership and direction, while others will continue to test the limits of our democratic values and European principles. We must fight back against the anti-EU narrative that takes hold so easily and so quickly. Disinformation and misinformation, further amplified during the pandemic, fuel easy cynicism and cheap solutions of nationalism, authoritarianism, protectionism, isolationism”, Metsola stressed.

Prior to her current position, Metsola worked as an A Member of the European Parliament (MEP) is a person who has been elected to serve as a representative in the European Parliament. MEP since 2013 and in November 2020 became First Vice-President. Her appointment as President on 18 January coincides with her 43^rd birthday.