Maltese lawmaker Roberta Metsola has been appointed to the largely ceremonial role of presiding over the EU Parliament, succeeding Italian politician David Sassoli, who passed away at the age of 65 earlier this month.
Metsola, 42, who has been serving as a member of the European Parliament for Malta since 2013, is its first Maltese president. Prior to that, she served as the first vice president of the European Parliament during Sassoli’s tenure.
In a video posted to Twitter ahead of her election, Metsola said it was “time that the European Parliament is led by a woman,” so the EU can send a positive message to “every single young girl” across the continent.
In her pledge to parliamentarians, Metsola said she wanted to “re-capture that sense of hope & enthusiasm” in the European project, seeking to connect with citizens beyond the “bubbles” of Brussels and Strasbourg.
When just a student, Metsola campaigned for Malta to join the EU, which it did in 2004, becoming the bloc’s smallest member state with a population of just over 500,000.