NEWS published on 09 May 2023

“When a country looks at the EU as its home, the EU should fling its doors wide open”, says European Parliament President

Portrait of Roberta Metsola, EU Parliament President
Roberta Metsola, EU Parliament President

In an exclusive Eurovision News interview, European Parliament President Roberta Metsola has said MEPs will seek to adopt a decision this week on sending more ammunition to Ukraine.

Speaking in Strasbourg to correspondents from four EBU Members - Ulf Röller (ZDF Germany), Marta Carazo (TVE Spain), Mindaugas Laukagalis (LRT Lithuania) and Norma Saliba (PBS Malta) - Metsola said Ukraine's EU accession negotiations should start as soon as possible.

"I think when a country looks at the European Union as its home, then my position is always the European Union should fling its doors wide open," she said. Metsola underlined that Ukraine is defending the fundamental values and freedoms that the EU takes for granted. "Ukraine is fighting for what we believe in," she said.

The European Parliament President also discussed the impact of sanctions on Russia. She said there were "still too many loopholes" and too many countries “not implementing the sanctions."

Asked about sanctions on China, Metsola said the European Union "does not yet have a coherent policy", and that she favoured tougher sanctions where it could mean Russia pulls out of Ukraine.

Metsola said the situation around the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant remains "very much of concern". "When we're talking about the nuclear situation, especially in Zaporizhzhia, the situation is not only one of dependence or electricity provision, but it also is one of safety for thousands and thousands of people in case there is a possibility of a catastrophe that could happen with the impact beyond the borders of that country."

Roberta Metsola was elected President of the European Parliament in January 2022. She was first elected to the Parliament in 2013, becoming one of Malta’s first female Members of the European Parliament. She was re-elected in 2014 and then again in 2019.