Roberta Metsola is Re-Elected President of the European Parliament
Roberta Metsola, 2024. Photo: X/ @EP_President
July 16, 2024 Hour: 8:01 am
She called for Europe to overcome the polarization that has led to confrontational politics and violence against politicians.
On Tuesday, Maltese politician Roberta Metsola was re-elected as President of the European Parliament, a position she will hold until January 2027. She received the support of 562 out of 623 MEPs.
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The alternative candidate, former Spanish Equality Minister and Podemos MEP Irene Montero, received 61 votes. The support of 90 percent of the European Parliament marks the highest approval for a presidential candidate in the institution’s history.
In a speech to the chamber after being elected, delivered in English, French, Italian, and Maltese, Metsola called for Europe to overcome the polarization that has led to confrontational politics and violence against politicians, urging resistance to “easy answers that divide our communities into ‘us’ and ‘them’.”
“We must move beyond this zero-sum game that excludes people and generates rejection, that fosters hatred and does not build with hope. We know that the comfort of these easy policies does not offer real solutions,” she said.
Metsola assured that the European Parliament will side with those who want to “build rather than destroy” and will take “the hard road” when necessary, based on equality, a new security and defense framework, enhanced competitiveness, solutions to the climate crisis, and the implementation of new legislation to manage migration flows.
“We cannot make Europe a better place if people are still unable to be who they want to be and love, if we do not remove all the barriers that prevent people with disabilities from having the same opportunities in life as others, if we are incapable of fighting discrimination or curbing the rise of anti-Semitism or Islamophobia, if hatred and violence continue to drive much of our political discourse,” she urged.
The 45-year-old politician also referred to the “European democracy that cannot be taken for granted” and asserted that autocrats perceive community values as a threat in places like Russia, Afghanistan, Iran, Belarus, or “where there are those who wave our flag while being pursued with pepper spray.”
“We can reclaim the narrative of our great Union and inspire new generations of Europeans,” Metsola assured to the applause of the chamber.
Autor: teleSUR/ JF
Fuente: EFE
