Watch: I Have A Good Relationship With Roberta Metsola, Minister Ian Borg Confirms
Roberta Metsola may be in the line of fire of several PL politicians but Foreign and EU Affairs Minister Ian Borg has said he actually has a good relationship with the European Parliament President.
“I am the Minister of EU Affairs and Roberta Metsola is the President of one of the most important institutions in the EU,” Borg told Lovin Malta when asked about his relationship with the EP President.
“I have a good relationship with her, in the sense that when I need to communicate with her, I do so. In fact, one of my first visits in Brussels [as Minister of Foreign and EU Affairs] was to meet with her.”
“Obviously we don’t agree on everything and we have diverging opinions, especially when it comes to local politics and perhaps even how some aspects are tackled. However she has her own audience; she has 750 MEPs and she ultimately represents their institution.”
Asked whether the two of them speak privately, Borg said they only do so for official purposes.
“We don’t speak privately. However, when, as a country and a ministry, we need to communicate with the European Parliament President then yes, we communicate and I message her. There weren’t many occasions like this but when there was a need for them, we did communicate.”
Asked whether Metsola deserves a second term as European Parliament President, Borg refused to express his personal opinion, stating that such a decision will be up to the MEPs.
He said it remains to be seen whether the European Parliament will still be dominated by EPP and S&D, the European political groups which PN and PL form part of, or whether other parties will rise.
“We know that the extreme right is raising its head and we must wait and see what the European Parliament will look like. I don’t think it’s up to me to decide whether Roberta Metsola deserves a second term or not.”
He similarly refused to rate her tenure as EP President.
“The people will take that decision on 8th June. Speaking for myself, I will obviously vote for every PL candidate on the ballot list because I think they are doing a very good job and they deserve a nine,” he concluded.
Borg’s assessment of Metsola is far more diplomatic than that expressed by several PL MEP candidates, such as Daniel Attard, who recently said she doesn’t deserve a second term and gave her tenure a four out of ten rating.
Meanwhile, Prime Minister Robert Abela has regularly criticised her for visiting Israel after the 7th October attacks and has equated her to former PN leader Simon Busuttil.
Do you think Roberta Metsola deserves a second term as EP President?
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