Metsola takes the chair: European Parliament plenary chaired in Maltese

Newly elected First Vice-President of the European Parliament, Roberta Metsola has made history by becoming the first Maltese national to preside over the European Parliament plenary session in Brussels since it first met in 1979.

In a nod to her constituency of Malta and Gozo, Vice-President Metsola spoke in Maltese as she chaired debates on the Middle East Peace Process and the fight against impunity for crimes committed against journalists.

Vice-President Metsola said “it was an honour to preside over the chamber for the first time in President Sassoli’s place and the sense of the moment did not escape me. I spoke in Maltese because I wanted to show all the people watching that you can come from anywhere in our Europe and that geography is no limit for our potential – and to underline again that the European Parliament is the house of everyone in Malta and Gozo. I will keep working to bridge the gap between the Parliament and the people we represent.

It was significant for me to be in the chair for the first time during a debate on the need for justice for crimes against journalists. There is still too much pressure on journalists in Europe and beyond, there are still far too many journalists under threat and there is still need for justice for those journalists like Daphne Caruana Galizia and Jan Kuciak who were assassinated bringing the truth to light.

The European Parliament will continue to stand up for the free press."