SE/STA
16. 7. 2024, 19.28
Updated: 7/16/2024, 7:42 p.m
The MEPs re-elected Roberta Metsola (EPP) as President of the European Parliament at the founding session in Strasbourg. As she announced after her election, she will advocate for a strong parliament and a strong EU. Her election was welcomed both in Brussels and by the Slovenian political elite, as well as Slovenian MEPs.
It’s on a secret ballot Forest, who was elected head of the European Parliament for the first half of the five-year term, was supported by 562 deputies. Her only opponent Irene Montero (Levica) received 61 votes. In the 720-member European Parliament, 699 deputies voted, 623 ballots were valid. An absolute majority of the valid votes cast was required for election.
The challenges facing the EU will require strong leaders, she told MPs before the election. She announced that she will cooperate with everyone so that the parliament can cope with the challenges ahead. After her election, when asked at a press conference whether this sanitary cordon (refusal to cooperate with the extreme right) was demolished due to strong support, she replied that she wanted to form alliances and build bridges and did not want to guess who supported her, as it was secret ballot.
The 45-year-old Maltese politician, who leads the European Parliament from 2022, sees the strong support as a message that she represents a pro-European majority. “The middle held up and I plan to build on that,” she announced. According to her, the European Parliament must remain a strong defender of Ukraine, in the search for lasting peace in the Middle East, it is necessary “in the fog of war to remain the messenger of humanity”, which strives to break the intergenerational cycle of violence, for a two-state solution, sustainable peace and the return of captured hostages. We will leave Europe better by establishing a new security and defense framework that will ensure people’s safety, she announced.
After the election, Metsola was congratulated by both the President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen as President of the European Council Charles Michel. As von der Leyen wrote on the X Network, Metsola’s leadership and its passion for Europe are needed today more than ever. Michel, however, asserted that the European Council is committed to the continued joint work of the European Parliament for a stronger EU.
The President of Slovenia also congratulated her on her re-election today Nataša Pirc Musarpremier Robert Dove and Foreign Minister Tanja Fajon. They added that they look forward to further cooperation for a stronger and better Europe. Today, Slovenian MEPs also congratulate Metsola, who attribute their broad support to her work so far.
Zala Tomašič (EPP/SDS), who today was the only MEP from the ranks of the SDS to comment on Metsola’s election for Slovenian journalists on the sidelines of the session in Strasbourg, expressed her joy at the great support and estimated that Metsola will continue to lead the parliament well. He also congratulated her on the X social network Milan Zver (EPP/SDS). Matej Tonin (EPP/NSi), however, said that it attributes high support to Metsola’s credibility.
Irena Joveva (Renew/Svoboda) estimated that the informal coalition remained in the middle, while Metsola was among the more moderate representatives of the EPP. Marjan Šarec (Renew/Svoboda) believes that Metsola indicated in her address to the MPs that she is well aware of the challenges that await the European Parliament and the EU.
Vladimir Prebilič (Zeleni/Vesna) justified the support by, among other things, its connectivity and previous work. He also made a similar assessment Matjaž Nemec (S&D/SD), who praised her listening to the initiatives and ideas of MPs from all political groups. He warned, however, that the search for a majority will also be extremely challenging due to the strengthened extreme right in this mandate.
The European Parliament later elected 11 more of the 14 vice-presidents in the first round of secret voting. Among them, none of the five candidates from three far-right political groups were elected. These three remaining vice-presidential positions are contested in the second round of voting, in which there is also a candidate from the Left. In this mandate, the S&D political group will have the most vice-presidents, namely five, followed by the EPP with three vice-presidents, the Liberals with two and the Greens with one. There is no MEP from Slovenia among the vice-presidents in this term either.
Source: svet24.si
