The President of the European Parliament is the most recent recipient of the key to the city of Lisbon. During an official visit to Portugal, at the invitation of the President of the Assembly of the Republic, Augusto Santos Silva, Roberta Metsola received Lisbon’s highest municipal award this Thursday, at a ceremony presided over by Mayor Carlos Moedas.
At the Salão Nobre dos Paços do Concelho, Roberta Metsola was received by the mayor of the city, by ambassadors from the member states and by seven of the 21 Portuguese MEPs. After receiving the award, the top European Union (EU) representative admitted that it was “a pride” to receive the key to the city. “Our Union travels through every city, town, city or region from Lisbon to Thessaloniki or from Porto to Strasbourg,” he added.
To Carlos Moedas, Roberta Metsola has always been “the policy of moderation against radicalism, unity against those who divide our societies, and the face of the struggle against identity politics” and, with a war on the continent, “these skills and adaptability are decisive for Europe and for our lives”. In addition, the mayor of Lisbon added, the president was “the first to make clear that this invasion, as Europeans, cannot be something to be accepted. [em abril]all European citizens saw this as a symbol of the struggle for democracy” and Metsola’s role in Ukraine’s proposal to join the European Union was not forgotten: “Thank you, on behalf of the people of Lisbon and the Portuguese, for your work in the European Parliament that gave Ukraine candidate status to join the EU.”
According to Metsola – who also offered gifts to the city of Lisbon -, on the eve of the State of the Union address (the 14th), the future of [comunitárias] are local”, because if the goal is to bring politics closer to the people, “there should be greater and more active interaction with all local, regional, national and European actors”. “This was one of the goals when I took office: that we be closer to places that require more decisions and concrete actions, especially in difficult times like the one we live in,” he added.
After the official reception, Metsola was offered a fado performance by the artist Tânia Oleiro, who performed on the steps of the town hall. This after lunch with Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa in the morning, in the citadel of Cascais, and after lunch, a meeting with athletes (including Telma Monteiro and Patrícia Mamona) and led by the Portuguese Olympic Committee.
An audience is planned for Friday, the last day of Roberta Metsola’s official visit to Portugal, with Augusto Santos Silva, President of the Assembly of the Republic, Edite Estrela (Vice-President) and Luís Capoulas Santos (President of the Commission European Affairs). The day will conclude with a speech at the end of the Estoril conferences, themed “The World Ahead”.
Source: DN
