PL MEP Calls Out Metsola For Shaking Greek PM’s Hand While Refusing Joseph Muscat’s
Labour MEP Alex Agius Saliba has accused European Parliament President Roberta Metsola of “double standards” after she shook the hand of Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis during a recent visit to the country.
“Roberta Metsola’s double standards have become even more evident,” Agius Saliba said after the EP President met up with and praised Mitsotakis as part of a tour of EU capitals ahead of the MEP elections in June.
He said Metsola’s willingness to “associate” with Mitsotakis contrasts with her “elaborate campaign to tarnish Malta’s reputation, including by refusing to shake hands with the ex-PM Joseph Muscat.”
Metsola had famously snubbed Muscat’s handshake gesture during a meeting at Castille in the midst of the 2019 political crisis.
At the time, Metsola was representing the European People’s Party as its rule of law spokesperson as part of a delegation of MEPs to Malta.
Thank you Prime Minister @kmitsotakis for a very warm welcome in beautiful Athens.
Delighted to be here as Greece celebrates 50 years since the return of democracy.
Because democracy matters, Europe matters, and Greeks voting in June's European election matters.
🇪🇺🇬🇷 pic.twitter.com/jHbOv8MS1W
— Roberta Metsola (@EP_President) February 20, 2024
She is not the only Maltese leader to have shaken Mitsotakis’ hand. Prime Minister Robert Abela also did so recently, although Agius Saliba didn’t mention this in his statement.
Robert Abela with Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis
However, Agius Saliba noted that the European Parliament recently adopted a resolution that harshly criticised Mitsotakis’s administration over cases of corruption, rule of law, media freedom and also tapping of the mobile phone of the leader of the opposition.
The scandal, which has been dubbed “Greece’s Watergate”, prompted the international press freedom group Reporters Without Borders to question whether Mitsotakis’ administration is attempting to conceal facts related to the 2021 assassination of journalist Giorgos Karaivaz.
“Metsola’s reaction to the resolution adopted by the European Parliament was a curt reply that Parliament should evaluate the counter-declaration by the Greek Supreme Court,” Agius Saliba said.
“This contrasts sharply with her treatment of ex-PM Joseph Muscat, who has never been found guilty of a crime by the Maltese courts.”
He also criticised Metsola for using her Greece visit to once again urge the EU to invest in defence, warning that it may be financed through higher taxes for Maltese residents or by prioritising defence spending over other priorities in the EU budget, such as funds allocated for social cohesion.
He didn’t point out that Prime Minister Robert Abela and the Maltese government have also voted in favour of increasing EU defence spending in several European Council meetings.
“It would be more sensible if Roberta Metsola used her position to promote peace and dialogue, which is indispensable in the current geo-political context and realities,” he said.
What do you make of Alex Agius Saliba’s latest statement?
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