PN leader Bernard Grech and European Parliament president Roberta Metsola addressed the congress of the European People's Party on Thursday, the last major meeting of the grouping of centre-right parties before the European Parliament elections in June.

The congress, in Romania, formally approved the nomination of Ursula von der Leyen for a second term as European Commission president. 

Grech said the EPP was the people's best way to ensure that challenges such as the cost of living and climate change were addressed.

The PN leader said the EPP must remain a voice for vulnerable people, a vehicle for justice for everyone and a means for a better quality of life.

He referred to the case of Jean Paul Sofia, who was killed in a construction site incident for which an inquiry blamed the State, mentioning how his mother Isabelle Bonnici has become an inspiration for the Maltese, fighting against all odds to ensure that the inquiry, which the government did not want, was appointed.

Grech also thanked EP President Roberta Metsola and Nationalist MEP David Casa for their work in the European Parliament.

Roberta Metsola addressing the EPP Congress.

Metsola highlighted the challenges faced by the European Union over the past few years and the dawn of a new era.

Europe, she said, had remained true to its values and principles.

"We were able to take the difficult decisions, to ensure vaccines and ventilators, to create jobs, to support families and industry, to champion enterprise and match rhetoric with action. When the world changed on February 24, of two years ago, we stood up. We understood that the Kremlin’s tanks threatened not only Ukraine, but everything that we have held dear. Everything that we inherited. We did not turn away. And we will not turn away," she said. 

Europe, she observed, had become the most influential global actor in the fight against climate change. "We are embracing the need for change, and that is critical. But we also know that this transition must happen at a pace that is sustainable – not slower, not faster. We know that our farmers must be part of the equation. Our industry must be part of the equation. Our young people, must be part of the equation."

This, she said, was the dawn of a new European age of jobs, trade and growth, with ambition and a sense of purpose that boosted competitiveness. It was a new European age of sustainability, where the clean growth strategy was ambitious, but human-centric, and provided real incentives and safety nets. It was the dawn of a new European age for agriculture where farmers were supported. This was a new European age for tech that embraced the hope of digitalisation and AI. It was also a new European age of security and autonomy: with a real security union - one that complemented existing defence architecture.

It was also a new European age that tackled migration: where the EU was fair with those in need of protection, firm with those not eligible and tough on traffickers.

This was also a new European age of equality, of opportunity, of youth: where women were not targeted for being women, where journalists were free to do their job and where corruption was fought and the rule of law was protected.