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Roberta Metsola re-elected President of the European Parliament

by AI | 16.Jul 2024 | Europe in brief AI

The Maltese MEP has been confirmed to lead the European Parliament for the next two and a half years with a record majority

Strasbourg (France), 16/07/2024.- Roberta Metsola after being re-elected President of the European Parliament during a plenary session of the parliament in Strasbourg, France, 16 July 2024. The first session of the new European Parliament opened on July 16, with MEPs electing their president for the next two and a half years. (France, Strasbourg) EFE/EPA/RONALD WITTEK

Strasbourg (ANSA) – The Plenary meeting in Strasbourg has re-elected Roberta Metsola as president of the European Parliament. The Maltese MEP has been confirmed at the helm of the Eurochamber for the next two and a half years with a record majority. Metsola was elected with 562 yes votes out of 699 voters. A long applause greeted the result. The other candidate, Irene Montero, received 61 votes.

“Thank you for your trust. It will be a parliament for everyone in Europe, to respect the promises of the founding fathers,” said the president after her re-election as head of the European Parliament. “I am convinced that ours is a Europe for everyone, that draws lessons from the past and ideals that have not disappeared,” she added.

The vote to confirm Metsola united the majority of the Italian government. Forza Italia, like the European People’s Party (EPP), voted in favor of the Maltese politician, who also received the preferences of a “large majority” of the European Conservatives and Reformists (ECR), including Brothers of Italy (FdI).

The League, parliamentary sources say, voted in favor of Metsola even though the Patriots for Europe are in opposition. The yes vote from the Democratic Party (PD) and the S&D group was expected. Among the Greens, the indication was freedom of vote, but party sources explain that it is presumed that most of them voted in favor. In The Left (which includes Sinistra and M5S), the indication was to choose Montero even if the vote was secret (July 16).