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Zagreb - Croatian Parliament Speaker Gordan Jandroković on Tuesday congratulated the newly-elected President of the European Parliament, Maltese Roberta Metsola, whose election was supported by 458 MEPs earlier in the day.
The role of the president is crucial for the successful performance of Parliament, as well as for cooperation with national parliaments, Jandroković wrote in his letter, wishing Metsola a lot of success during her chairmanship.
Your election is the confirmation of the reputation you enjoy among the members of one of the most important European institutions, the speaker of the Sabor added.
In my capacity as the president of the Croatian parliament I am ready to continue promoting the cooperation between our two parliaments through the exchange of ideas and good practices, he wrote.
"Parliaments are guardians of democracy and I believe that the positive role of parliamentary diplomacy and dialogue would make European institutions closer to EU citizens."
Metsola, 43, is a member of the Maltese pro-European party called Partit Nazzjonalista (PN). She was elected after her predecessor, David Sasoli, recently passed away.
Metsola, a member of the European People's Party (EPP), defeated the other two candidates: Sweden's Alice Bah Kuhnke (Greens) and Spain's Sira Rego (radical left), who fell behind with 101 and 57 votes respectively.
She is the third chairwoman to hold the helm of the European Parliament after Simona Veil (1979-1982) and Nicole Fontaine (1999-2002).