The European Parliament began its tenth term

Published 16 July 2024 at 17:48

EU. On Tuesday, the European Parliament officially met in Strasbourg for the first time after the EU elections in June.

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During the day, the members elected the president and 14 deputies Speakers.

Roberta Metsola (EPP, Malta) was re-elected as President of the European Parliament until 2027. She received an absolute majority with 562 out of 699 votes cast in a closed vote with a total of two candidates. She will continue to lead the parliament for the first two and a half years of the tenth term.

In her speech to the House after she was elected, Roberta Metsola said:

– Together we must we stand up for the politics of hope, for the dream that is Europe. I want people to regain a sense of faith and enthusiasm for our project. A belief that we can make our common area safer, fairer and more equal. A belief that we are stronger and better together. A conviction that our Europe is a Europe for all.

During the tenth term, the European Parliament will have 720 members, which is 15 more than at the end of the previous term. 54 percent of the members are new (in 2019, the proportion of new members was 61 percent). 39 percent of the members are women (the proportion was 40 percent in 2019).

Lena Schilling (The Greens/EFA) from Austria (23 years old) is the youngest member and Leoluca Orlando (The Greens/EFA) from Italy (77 years old) is the oldest. The average age of a member of the current parliament is 50.

At the start of the tenth term there are eight political groups, one more than in the previous term. 33 members are still unaffiliated.

The vote on Ursula von der Leyen's second term as President of the European Commission takes place on Thursday.