History made: Roberta Metsola elected First Vice-President of the European Parliament

First Maltese national to hold position.

In a first for Malta and Gozo, Roberta Metsola has been elected to the office of First Vice-President of the European Parliament, becoming the first Maltese person to hold one of the top jobs within the European institution.

Vice-President Metsola was in Valletta, when the result of the election was announced and said “it is a tremendous honour to have been elected as First Vice-President and to have done so with such strong support from Members of the European Parliament.”

As First Vice-President, Roberta Metsola will support and replace the President of the European Parliament in first instance, should he be absent or unavailable to discharge his duties, including chairing plenary sittings or representing Parliament at specific ceremonies.

It is an institutional role, not a partisan one. The Vice-Presidency is a role enshrined within EU law.

The First Vice-President holds several high-level responsibilities related to the external representation of the European Parliament, the negotiation of legislation with the European Commission and the European Council.

This makes her the highest-ranking Maltese ever, within the European Parliament.

In an initial reaction, Vice-President Metsola said: “This is a role that I look forward to and I am determined to use the new responsibilities, I was entrusted with, to continue to be a strong voice for European citizens, for Malta and for Gozo and continue to work to build bridges across the political divide.

We have to hit the ground running.  With the economic and health recovery from the COVID pandemic; terror threats; the BREXIT negotiations; a new President in the United States of America; the situation in Belarus; continued migration challenges and a new rule of law framework all high on the agenda - I, together with President Sassoli and other MEPs, will continue to do our part to ensure that the European Parliament remains a strong link between citizens and the European decision making process."