Despite any divergences on certain issues, the national interest definitively dictated in favour of Malta's Prime Minister strongly backing the re-nomination of Roberta Metsola for the post of European Parliament President, Robert Abela said on Tuesday.

"Naturally I wish her well, for her renewed appointment in her post as the President of the European Parliament," the Prime Minister told TVM in Libya.

Abela said that over the last few months there have been some topics on which he and Metsola have not agreed on. He said that "there has been some divergence in the positions that she has taken and the positions that the Maltese government felt would have been the correct ones to take.".

Having said that, he continued that since the most relevant discussions began regarding who should occupy the key posts within the European Union, for him "the choice was clear".

"On one hand, I had these divergences which I mentioned, but on the other hand there was a Maltese national who had the opportunity to serve again in one of the highest posts within the European Union. For me the national interest definitely dictates in favour of me strongly backing her re-nomination so that she would again be able to occupy this post."

On the matter of the two Labour Party MEPs who did not vote for Metsola, those being MEPs Daniel Attard and Alex Agius Saliba, the Prime Minister commented that they did not vote against her either. He added that they provided their individual explanations as to why they chose to abstain.

Abela said that he had made his position clear in the EU forum, "not only internally but also publicly so that there would not be any doubt regarding our position". He said that the government had made its position clear when it comes to who should be the President of the European Council, the President of the European Parliament, as well as the President of the European Commission.

"I look forward and understand that the President of the European Parliament will be under our scrutiny and there will probably be themes on which we will again disagree, and we will again register these divergences, but as I said, the national interest always prevails," the Prime Minister concluded.