President of the European Parliament Roberta Metsola has denied claims that she had plagiarised in her university thesis.

In a report published on German tabloid newspaper Bild, media research Stefan Weber made a claim that Metsola's thesis contained plagiarism material from other authors. PL Deputy Leader and MEP Alex Agius Saliba referenced the article in a Facebook post, and provided an English translation. The plagiarism hunter Stefan Weber accuses her of having copied "almost half" of her doctoral thesis, it reads. It also reads that the President of the EU Parliament does not have a doctorate, but calls herself on the side of her conservative EPP group: "Dr. Metsola".

Reacting to the BILD report, a spokesperson for the EU Parliament President said: "The President stands by the authenticity of her work, written 23 years ago, as part of her law course and rejects any assertion to the contrary. She is incredibly proud of her degree and the integrity of her Alma Mater, the University of Malta."

"This is a question that has already been answered 23 years ago. The thesis was examined by a panel of academics and legal experts, who were the body competent to decide on whether the thesis reached the necessary standards. They examined it in detail and concluded that the thesis did in fact match the standards needed for the degree."

"As context, it is clear that the person making these claims is confusing, deliberately or mistakenly, the University of Malta's law degree and a PhD. In Malta, like other countries, a degree in law (LL.D as it was known) is considered as a legacy doctoral degree."

"The degree is the equivalent to a EQF level 7 on the European Qualifications Framework, not a level 8 like a PhD. Every person who has ever graduated with this LL.D degree in Malta is granted the title of "Dr." and is referred to as such. This is a similar situation with law graduates in other EU countries and this is the case with every lawyer in Malta, including the Prime Minister and leader of the Malta Labour Party."