The President of the European Parliament, the Maltese politician Roberta Metsola, has sat down with Polish news site Polsat News to discuss issues relating to the EU, Poland and Ukraine.
Speaking of the Ukraine war, Metsola explained that when it comes to speed of action and the delivery of aid to Ukraine, often she gets “frustrated that things move too slowly”. However, she added that “I must commend Poland for the work it has done, not only from a logistical perspective, but for ensuring that Ukraine has been shown so much solidarity.”
Metsola, who has been the President of the European Parliament since January 2022, also stressed that MEPs had passed a new package of support for Ukraine that will total 18 billion EUR. She explained that as well as the financial and practical aid, MEPs had decided to also send a political signal by using the strongest language possible to condemn Russia. For that reason, they opted for a resolution that identifies Russia as a state sponsor of terrorism.
The President took the opportunity to also explain the EU’s “Generators of Hope” campaign, in which she is “working with cities across the EU to donate power generators to cities in Ukraine”. In her view, this demonstrates how the Parliament is able to “tangibly help Ukrainians survive these difficult months ahead”.
Metsola was also asked about the tensions that have existed between Poland and Hungary and the EU’s institutions. In response she pointed to how the populations of the two countries are “overwhelmingly pro-European”. She emphasised that the decision not to provide support to states that fail to adhere to European standards of the rule of law was in order to ensure that “taxpayer’s money will not be spent incorrectly, that it will not end up in the wrong pockets”.
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