Roberta Metsola has been re-elected as President of the European Parliament and is the first woman to serve a second consecutive term in this office
Roberta Metsola re-elected as European Parliament President
Metsola was re-elected with 562 out of the 623 valid votes cast.
The re-election of the Nationalist MEP was considered a mere formality, even when a second candidate entered the race for the presidency on Monday evening.
Spanish MEP Irene Montero was put forward by The Left political group shortly before Monday’s 6pm deadline for nominations. Montero received 61 votes.
Labour MEPs Alex Agius Saliba and Daniel Attard both abstained from the vote, similarly expressing in social media that they did so in consistency with what they had said during their election campaigns.
His position contrasts with that of Labour leader Robert Abela, who said it was “in the national interest” to support Metsola’s campaign for re-election.
Third female and youngest ever president
When she was elected EP president in January 2022, Roberta Metsola became the 33rd president and only the third woman to assume this role.
The former female EP presidents were the French MEPs Simone Veil elected in 1979, and Nicole Fontaine elected in 1999.
As well as being the first Maltese President of the European Parliament, Metsola was also the youngest ever president.
Metsola now is the first female president to serve a second consecutive term, and only the second person ever to serve a second term in this role.
The first, and so far only, EP president to serve two terms was German Socialist Martin Schulz from 2012 to 2017.
The president’s role
The President of the European Parliament presides over the debates and activities of the European Parliament. They also represent the parliament within the European Union and internationally.
Contrary to claims by political opponents, the president acts on parliamentary majorities and not necessarily in the interest of their constituency or member state.
