President George Vella encouraged newly-elected MEPs to put Malta’s interests first during a meeting at the Palace on Tuesday.

Malta held its European Parliament elections this weekend. PL MEPs Miriam Dalli, Alfred Sant, Josianne Cutajar, Alex Agius Saliba and PN MEPs Roberta Metsola and David Casa came out on top to take Malta’s six seats in Brussels.

The four Labour MEPs were all present at the meeting with Dr Vella. Dr Metsola and Mr Casa informed the President’s Office they were travelling back to Brussels, the President said.

President Vella met with the MEPs in between scheduled meetings he had with former Australian minister Alexander Dowling and a courtesy call from Malta's ambassador to Libya, Charles Saliba. 

Gaining a seat at the European Parliament was not a prize, but a duty MEPs must carry on their shoulders, he said. 

What is good for Germany and France might not necessarily be good for Malta

Maltese MEPs must keep the country’s interests at heart and remember that what is good for Germany and France might not necessarily be good for Malta, he added.

He said this election was a “fair and serene” one, adding no objections have so far been raised on the result or the electoral process.

What was beautiful about this particular result was that there was an equal mix of genders and a mix of experiences, Dr Vella said, adding both incumbents and newcomers had been elected.

For the first time, a Gozitan MEP (Dr Cutajar) had also been elected, he noted.

One still needed to see the role of far-right parties, he said, adding the strength of the larger parties in Europe took a hit during these elections.

Across Europe, the Greens increased the number of their MEPs by almost 40 per cent. On the other hand, the parliament’s main centre-left and centre-right group shrank in power.

“I believe there will be new challenges, because of the composition of the parliament,” Dr Vella said. “This is a scenario that creates new challenges but it is a scenario which can support our country,” he added.