European Union Parliament President Roberta Metsola has defended her comments about defence spending by the European Union, labelling as “hypocritical” what Labour Party exponents, including Prime Minister Robert Abela, have said about her position.

“First of all, I am in favour of peace. At the end of the day, would there be anyone in their right mind who believes that I want war?”, she said in an exclusive interview with The Malta Independent on Sunday

“I have worked all my life for Malta to become an EU member state while others wanted us to be held back, and this is precisely because the EU is a peace project. So how can it now be spun round to say that I want war?," she said.

"What bothers me most is the hypocrisy,” she said. “The Prime Minister and the Labour Party go to the Armed Forces, make a celebration out of the inauguration of a naval vessel we obtained thanks to EU funds, and say that it is thanks to EU funds and that it is to increase our defence; but then complain about defence spending. When we talk about defence we are also talking about cyber-security. Imagine if someone hacked MITA, would that mean that safeguarding our technological infrastructure now means investing in war?"

In a recent interview with Politico, Metsola said that the European Union must "step up" its defence capabilities and be ready to face threats without the support of its long-time security partner the United States. Addressing a political rally, Abela had said, in what was widely seen to be criticism of Metsola's comments, that the Labour Party “believes in peace, while others believe in war. Wherever we are we push forward the value of peace. Others, as we saw, want EU countries to spend more on arms.”

Asked for her reaction to the criticism emanating from the Labour Party following her defence spending comments, President Metsola said she takes all comments and criticism in her stride. "I am now used to it. As to whether I think it’s correct or the way we should do politics, absolutely not. But that is the reality we live in. I can only hope that I can project a completely different type of politics in the way I represent Malta and Gozo in my position.”

She said that there are pieces of legislation and conclusions that pass through the EU Council with Maltese Ministers and the Prime Minister saying ok to conclusions that are referring to increased spending in defence and security. "That is what is needed in terms of preparedness in this period of geo-political instability we are living in. I think it would frankly be irresponsible not to be careful" in terms of cybersecurity, "and ensuring that our citizens feel secure as ultimately security is about making sure our people feel safe."
She also mentioned defending fishermen as another example. There have been reports over the years of Maltese fishermen being threatened by boats from Tunisia during the lampuki season, for example.

"Fishermen have been asking, for a long time, to have members of the Armed Forces help them in international waters. This is where they sometimes encounter hostile situations and find themselves alone. They are being told there aren't enough resources. These fishermen form part of the integral fabric of our society, contribute so much and do a dangerous job, and they are scared." She said that other fishermen in the EU in the Mediterranean Sea, and outside the EU, are supported when their safety is at risk. "Is that an act of war? I don't think so."

Two years of EP presidency

Metsola was elected as President of the EU Parliament on 19 January 2022.  Asked about her legacy, she described the last two years as being challenging. "We’ve worked on increasing the competitiveness of our economy. We've worked on artificial intelligence, on digital services, media freedom, the rule of law, and gender equality, everything that we would say make people's lives a little bit easier and fairer, a little bit safer, and a bit more prosperous."

She said that Europe, for her, "always represented the future, represented change, and the concept of possibility and hope. When I took the job, I wanted to bring back the enthusiasm for our project, and that's what I've tried to do." 
President Metsola said she tried to decrease the communications deficit and better explain the role of Parliament, and is currently travelling from country to country with the aim of increasing the turnout for the upcoming European Parliament elections, "but more importantly to explain what the Parliament does and how peoples’ votes will determine the direction of their country and Europe for the coming five years." 

She also mentioned the war in Ukraine and the Covid-19 Pandemic as being issues that had "changed the way we've run this presidency".

Asked whether she is interested in seeking a second term as President of the EU Parliament, she said she will not speculate. "I am really focusing, as we are around 90 days away from the MEP elections, on getting re-elected in Malta and Gozo. That has been the honour of a lifetime for the past ten years, to represent Maltese and Gozitans. Of course it was a big responsibility and a privilege to be elected President two years ago, so I will work until the end of my term as President of the European Parliament. We have a huge amount of work to do in order to ensure that we approve many more legislative files before the election, and then in June we will have a new Parliament and it will be up to that new Parliament to elect its new President."

A third seat for PN?

As for what the chances are of the PN attaining the third MEP seat in the elections, and what would happen should it fail to do so, Metsola was coy in her response. "I encourage people to go out and vote, to make a choice. Ultimately this election that I'm running in is one in which six MEPs will be elected, and my hope is that all six MEPs who will be elected will work for the best interest of all Maltese and Gozitans. To do this, we really must be able to work together. My appeal is not to turn this election into a partisan one of red vs blue. We really must be ready to work in the best interest of Malta, and as we celebrate 20 years of EU membership on the 1st of May, I think this would be one thing in the best interest of all Maltese and Gozitans."

Middle East war

President Metsola was criticised for her visit to Israel after Hamas had launched an attack on 7 October, where she was accused of having taken a pro-Israel stance. 

Asked whether she would have done anything differently, and what needs to be done to achieve peace, she said that the decision she took "was one with a sense of responsibility. If I had the slimmest of hopes that I could make a difference to save people's lives, I would have been irresponsible not to do it. When I was there on the ground, I said that when engaging in a response, that response needs to protect lives. That is why I condemned the brutal attacks on hospitals, and what is happening now is nothing but carnage. It is absolutely condemnable.”

Referring to the humanitarian situation in Gaza, she described the situation as “horrible and we are seeing way too many deaths. Thousands have died and the bombs must stop."

"I am proud that the EU Parliament has called for a permanent cease-fire, the first and only institution to do so, and is making a distinction between the Palestinian people and their legitimate aspirations, and Hamas. We have called for hostages to be released and said that there is a need for food, medicine, water, and more humanitarian aid to enter Gaza. What I condemn is every murder. A solution can never be a military one, but can only be political. That is always at the back of my mind in every action I take."

We also need to talk about the attack that took place on the 7th of October, she said. “It was a brutal, unjustifiable attack. It was an attack that broke an uneasy cease-fire that was present. It is absolutely condemnable. I saw bodies of girls mutilated, raped, tortured and killed, simply because they were with their friends at a party. Our hearts must be big enough for the victims, and our minds must have the capacity to find the political will to break the cycle of history. That is the only way we can find peace that has eluded generations."

There is always hope that a solution will be found. "Even in the fog of war we need to talk about reaching a peace process. We need a Palestinian state, a two-state solution. I spoke about this when I was in the Israeli Parliament. I said it in the West Bank to the President of Palestine Mahmoud Abbas. It has been welcomed by the Palestinian government that we are pushing for this. In this regard, legitimate leadership is needed because Gaza should be run by Palestinians who are legitimate. We need to give perspective to the Palestinian people who are not living with the horror of Hamas as a terror organisation."

Joseph Muscat as a candidate?

There has been speculation that former Maltese Prime Minister Joseph Muscat might contest the EU Parliament elections. Asked if this raises any concerns for her, and whether his election could have an impact on how other MEPs view the country, she said: "I don't know what Joseph Muscat will do, this is up to the Labour Party. I think there is enough for them to worry about right now, but this is in the hands of Robert Abela, and frankly whether he has the courage to tell him what needs to be done."

EU policies

Over the years one critique of the EU is that there have been EU laws and directives introduced which have a one-size-fits-all approach, and that there have been instances of this negatively impacting Malta. Asked whether the EU needs to be more sensitive to small states and give them more leeway, she said that Europe "must be big on the big things and small on the small things, while at the same time ensuring that all countries have the right capacity to negotiate legislation, the ability to stop legislation, and the competence to implement it. What we've seen over the past five years is a very different scenario. We have seen a lack of preparedness when proposals come out. We have seen a lack of preparedness when looking at the Maltese position, when it is negotiated and when it comes to the Parliament for a vote."

She said that ministers sometimes sign up to legislation without having any idea what they are signing up for. "I think this is a lesson learned over the past five years and this is something we should really look at altogether as a country, all MEPs elected, the Permanent representation, all ministers who sign off on legislation.”