Roberta Metsola has been congratulated by the Maltese Parliament after she was appointed first vice-president of the European Parliament.

The subject was brought up by PN MP Robert Cutajar, who said it was only proper that Parliament congratulated the Maltese MEP who now holds one of the highest posts in an EU institution.

Government Whip Glenn Bedingfield also wished Metsola well but added that he hopes that she “uses the role for the good of Malta.”

Speaker Anġlu Farrugia also congratulated Metsola and wished her well. 

Earlier in the day, Prime Minister Robert Abela was asked why he had not congratulated the Nationalist MEP on her appointment.

He replied that he was happy for any Maltese citizen who did well in their career but added that Metsola had made “unfair” criticism of the Maltese passport scheme her “mission.”

Reacting, the MEP said she had never asked for Abela to congratulate her.  

She said that Abela is, “too weak, too insecure, too blinkered, to see beyond his Labour Party brief or that he only sees the country in shades of red or blue should tell you all you need to know about the man, and how far out of his depth he is in the office he holds.”

“I am grateful to the members of his Cabinet and many members of the Party he leads who got in touch and who understood what this means for the country and for every girl and boy looking at getting involved in politics," she added.