On Tuesday, the new cohort of MEPs re-elected Roberta Metsola (EPP/MT) as the President of the European Parliament. She is expected to hold the position for a minimum of 2.5 years.
Metsola is a member of Malta’s opposition Nationalist Party and is a close confidante of EPP Party and Group President Manfred Weber and Commission President Ursula von der Leyen. Despite this, she is widely respected and liked across the political spectrum. Metsola was elected by an overwhelming majority of 562 votes out of 623, the highest ever, showing that her support went beyond party lines. Her other rival for the position, former Spanish equality minister Irene Montero, (ES/LEFT) received only 61 votes.
In her re-election speech, she highlighted the key responsibilities of the next mandate, including enhancing economic competitiveness, addressing climate change, reinforcing social policies, and fighting political polarization.
While the President of the European Parliament does not control what legislation comes to the floor based on party political priorities (contrary to, for example, the U.S. Speaker of the House), her speech and priorities for the Parliament openly reflected the EPP’s election manifesto. Specifically, she called on MEPs to “be the voice that ensures all of our policies work and that they work well for young people, for families, for farmers and industry alike,” while also calling for real solutions to climate and the implementation of “proper migration and asylum legislation”.
Addressing the Parliament, Metsola emphasized that “This will remain the House of every person in Europe. Together, we must stand up for the politics of hope, for the dream that is Europe […] I still want people to recapture a sense of belief and enthusiasm for our project. A belief to make our shared space safer, fairer, more just and equal. A belief that together we are stronger, and we are better. A belief that ours is a Europe for all.”
On the economy, President Metsola called on new MEPs to “double down on Europe’s competitiveness” through deepening the single market, concluding global trade deals, having implementable targets for industry, and “cutting back on red-tape and unnecessary bureaucracy that pushes people and jobs away from Europe.”
With her re-election, Metsola consolidates her position as one of the most prominent EPP politicians and demonstrates her ability to work with forces across the European political spectrum. Since her first election as Parliament’s President in January 2022, following the unexpected death of her predecessor, David Sassoli, Metsola has taken a more active role than her predecessors in the post.
