Europe

Roberta Metsola elected new president of European Parliament

Maltese lawmaker from center-right European People’s Party elected with 458 votes

Agnes Szucs  | 18.01.2022 - Update : 19.01.2022
Roberta Metsola elected new president of European Parliament

BRUSSELS

Roberta Metsola has been elected president of the European Parliament on Tuesday in the midterm elections.


“Roberta Metsola elected new President of the European Parliament with 458 votes,” the EU institution announced on Twitter.

“I am honored to have been elected by my colleagues as president of the European Parliament,” Metsola told reporters at a news conference.


“I know that I have big shoes to fill, and I will pay a tribute to David (Sassoli) and all those before him by always, always standing up for this house and for Europe,” she said.


Metsola also promised to “stand against anybody who wants to destroy the European project.”


The 43-year-old Maltese politician represents the European Parliament’s biggest political group, the European People’s Party.


Trained as a lawyer specializing in European law and politics, she has worked as an EU lawmaker since 2013.


All elected offices in the European Parliament, including president and vice presidents, are renewed every two and half years – at the start of the five-year term and halfway through.

The European Parliament’s previous head David Sassoli died last week. Unrelated to his medical condition, Sassoli did not intend to run for a second term.

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