She was a favorite in this election. On Tuesday January 18, the Maltese Roberta Metsola, 43, was elected President of the European Parliament by obtaining an absolute majority in the first round of the ballot. This election is one of the two highlights of the first plenary session of 2022 for the Strasbourg assembly, with the speech on Wednesday by Emmanuel Macron who will set out the objectives of the French presidency of the European Union for the six coming months.
Anti-abortion activist
A member of the right-wing group of the EPP, the leading political force in this institution, Roberta Metsola succeeds the Italian David Sassoli, who died on January 11 and whose mandate ended this week.
→ PORTRAIT. Death of Italian David Sassoli, defender of democracy and European solidarity
MEP since 2013 and Vice-President of Parliament since 2020, Roberta Metsola had recently gained visibility by acting as interim David Sassoli, away from the hemicycle by illness for several weeks.
But this mother of four has also drawn criticism from some of her colleagues. In question, his anti-abortion convictions, an opinion very widely held in Malta, the last country in the EU where abortion remains completely illegal. Aware of the reservations she had aroused on this issue, she assured that her “duty will be to represent the position of Parliament”, including sexual and reproductive rights.
Third female President of the European Parliament
Roberta Metsola thus becomes the third woman to chair the assembly of 705 MEPs, following the French Simone Veil (1979-1982) and Nicole Fontaine (1999-2002). In addition to the president, no less than 14 vice-presidents were elected during the session, for a term of two and a half years. Official positions in parliamentary committees and European delegations were also renewed, fueling bitter negotiations between the political groups.
→ REREAD. European Parliament: Alice Kuhnke’s candidacy complicates the race for the presidency
According to the regulations of the Parliament, the president has a certain number of powers, in particular that of ruling on the admissibility of texts and amendments submitted to the vote of the assembly, in addition to the conduct of debates. He also represents the institution at the European summits of the Twenty-Seven. Roberta Metsola to take the reins of the European Parliament until the summer of 2024.
.
