Malta’s Metsola to Head EU Parliament for Second Term

STRASBOURG – Roberta Metsola has secured broad support for a new term as president of the European Parliament, becoming the first woman to win a second term as head of the EU assembly.

Metsola, a Maltese lawmaker who in 2022 became the first woman in 20 years to lead the European Union assembly, is now the second president, after Germany’s Martin Schulz, to win another term since the EU Parliament became a directly elected institution in 1979. She received overwhelming approval from EU lawmakers, with 562 out of 623 votes backing her reappointment.

“This must be a house that cannot be afraid to lead and to change. We have started, but we have not yet finished,” said Metsola, 45, a member of the center-right European People’s Party.

In her address to the EU assembly, Metsola emphasized the Parliament’s role in supporting Ukraine, upholding the rule of law, and seeking the authority to propose EU legislation—currently a power reserved for the European Commission.

As president, Metsola will oversee the 720-member parliament, which negotiates and adopts EU legislative proposals and approves the bloc’s budget. During her first term, she gained recognition for raising the EU assembly’s profile and her unwavering support for Ukraine. Metsola was the first EU institution leader to visit Kyiv following Russia’s invasion in February 2022 and has been a staunch advocate for Ukraine’s EU membership bid.

EU officials praised Metsola’s ability to unite centrist parties, serving as a bulwark against the far-right’s gains in last month’s European elections. She has also worked to restore the Parliament’s reputation following the Qatargate bribery scandal, proposing stricter rules on lawmakers’ financial declarations and lobbyist contacts, although campaigners argue that the reforms are not fully enacted.

The European Parliament is the EU’s only directly elected institution. Metsola, a mother of four from the EU’s smallest country, became an EU lawmaker in 2013 and has since risen through the ranks to become its youngest president.

Metsola faced criticism before her initial election for her stance on abortion. As an EU lawmaker from Malta, where abortion is largely illegal, she had opposed resolutions calling for women’s access to safe abortions. However, upon becoming EU Parliament president, she committed to representing the assembly’s position on sexual and reproductive rights, including women’s rights to access safe abortions.