“We expect the new President to muster the will credibly and firmly to represent the positions of the European Parliament”

Joint reaction by MEPs Irena Joveva and Klemen Grošelj to the election of the new President of the European Parliament:

“The election of the new President of the European Parliament, Roberta Metsola, is a result of the political agreement reached by the three largest pro-European political groups on cooperation for the remainder of the current parliamentary term.

We absolutely welcome the fact that, after many years, a woman is again taking the helm of the Parliament, which will, among other things, certainly give additional impetus to the promotion of a higher level of equality in the EU. But in this light, we also underline our unambiguous expectation that the new President will muster the personal and political will credibly and firmly to represent the positions of the European Parliament, in particular on issues where her personal or ideological views diverge. We particularly draw attention to the area of women’s rights, specifically the right to make decisions about their own bodies or the right to abortion. The European Parliament has already adopted a very clear position on this subject, toward which the new President has a negative stance, of which we decidedly do not approve.

There is also the issue of the rule of law, which remains important not only in the context of the protection of fundamental values of the EU and citizens’ rights, but is also turning into the key issue for the further development of the EU. We highlight this primarily due to the fact that the political group of the new President, the European People’s Party, has repeatedly defended political positions which to us are completely unacceptable. We therefore expect President Metsola to continue on the path trodden by the late President David Sassoli.

In view of her public appearances so far, we furthermore hope that President Metsola will accelerate the organisational changes to the functioning of the Parliament that are already underway, in particular towards more substantive debates in plenary meetings. Defending and strengthening the position of the European Parliament, in particular vis-à-vis the Council of the EU as co-legislator, and vis-à-vis the European Commission, in particular as regards the Parliament’s oversight function, will also be an important part of her tasks.”