Roberta Metsola
Roberta Metsola MEP | |
---|---|
Member of the European Parliament | |
Incumbent | |
Assumed office 24 April 2013 | |
Preceded by | Simon Busuttil |
Personal details | |
Born | Pietà | January 18, 1979
Nationality | Maltese |
Political party | Partit Nazzjonalista |
Spouse(s) | Ukko Metsola |
Children | Luca, Alec & Marc |
Residence | St. Julian's, Malta |
Alma mater | University of Malta |
Profession | Lawyer |
Religion | Roman Catholic |
Roberta Metsola (born January 18, 1979, in Pietà, Malta) is a Member of the European Parliament representing Malta.
Education and Work
Metsola is a lawyer by profession and has specialised in European law and politics. She served as Malta's Legal and Judicial Cooperation Attaché within the Permanent Representation of Malta to the European Union.[1] and as legal advisor to the High Representative of the European Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy.
Politics
In her student years, she formed part of SDM (Studenti Demokristjani Maltin), KNZ (The National Youth Council) and MZPN (Moviment Zgħazagħ Partit Nazzjonalista), before being elected as Secretary General of the European Democrat Students (EDS - the student branch of the EPP), as well as to posts within the European Youth Forum (YJF). In 2002, she was elected vice-president of the Youth Convention on the Future of Europe which paved the way to her being closely involved in the negotiation and drafting of the European Constitutional Treaty and, later, the Lisbon Treaty.
She has been constantly active within the Partit Nazzjonalista in Malta, serving within the party's international secretariat; actively campaigning for a 'YES' vote in the 2003 EU membership referendum; volunteering with the PN's election arm ELCOM.
Participation in European Parliament Elections
Metsola ran for the European Parliament elections in 2004 and 2009 European Parliament as a Nationalist candidate in Malta. She was not elected in either of these elections.
However, she successfully contested the casual election to fill in the vacated seat of Simon Busuttil on 24 April 2013, becoming one of Malta's first female Members of the European Parliament.[2]
Portfolio as Member of European Parliament
Metsola currently contributes to and is a member of the following committees: CRIM (Special Committee on Organised Crime, Corruption and Money Laundering), LIBE (Committee on Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs), PETI (Petitions Committee) and DSEE (Delegation for relations with Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Serbia, Montenegro and Kosovo). She has also chosen to be a substitute member of IMCO (Committee on the Internal Market and Consumer Protection), DEEA (Delegation for relations with Switzerland and Norway and to the EU-Iceland Joint Parliamentary Committee and the European Economic Area (EEA) Joint Parliamentary Committee) and DMED (Delegation to the Parliamentary Assembly of the Union for the Mediterranean).
Metsola has the last year of this legislature as an MEP to be part of these committees, as the Maltese Elections for Members of the European Parliament is set for 2014.