Roberta Metsola won broad support on Tuesday for a new term as President of the European Parliament, becoming the first woman to win a second term at the head of the EU assembly.
Metsola, a Maltese lawmaker who in 2022 became the first woman in 20 years to head the European Union’s legislative body, She is only the second female president, after Germany’s Martin Schulz, to win another term since the EU Parliament became a directly elected institution in 1979.
Metsola was approved by a large majority of MPs to lead the European Parliament for another two and a half years, with 562 votes in favour of his re-election, out of the 623 who voted. “This must be a house that is not afraid to lead and change. “We have started, but we are not finished yet,” said Metsola, 45, a member of the centre-right European People’s Party.
Addressing the plenary, Metsola said that Parliament must remain a strong defender of Ukraine, the rule of law and seek the power to propose EU legislation. Currently, only the European Commission can propose new EU legislation.
Metsola, who will continue to play a largely ceremonial role, will preside over the 720-member parliament that negotiates and adopts EU legislative proposals and approves the bloc’s budget.
In her first term, the rapidly rising conservative, He won praise from lawmakers for raising the profile of the European Parliament and for his strong support for Ukraine. She was the first EU institution leader to visit Kyiv following the Russian invasion in February 2022 and has consistently backed Ukraine’s EU candidacy.
Some EU officials told Reuters they valued Metsola’s ability to unite centrist parties as a bulwark in the European Parliament., after the far right saw strong growth in last month’s European elections.
Metsola has also sought to repair parliament’s reputation following the Qatargate bribery scandal, proposing stricter rules on lawmakers’ financial disclosures and contacts with lobbyists, although activists say the reforms have not been fully implemented.
The European Parliament is the only directly elected EU institution. Metsola, a mother of four and originally from the smallest EU country, became an MEP in 2013, before rising through the ranks of the institution to become its youngest president.
In the run-up to her initial election she was criticised for her stance on abortion. As an MP from Malta, where abortion is largely illegal,Metsola had opposed resolutions calling for women to have access to safe abortions.
But by becoming President of the European Parliament, she pledged to represent the EU assembly’s position on sexual and reproductive rights, including women’s right to access safe abortions.
