Anyone visiting the site where journalist Daphne Caruana Galizia was murdered would be showing respect to all journalists and truth-seekers, the European Parliament president said when asked if she believes Prime Minister Robert Abela should visit.

"I have confidence in the fact that other European leaders came to this site. To  me this is not just a memorial site but also one that shows respect to journalists and whoever investigates to seek the truth. I think this is a message that should be respected by all," Roberta Metsola told Times of Malta.

She was speaking in Bidnija after her final engagement on her first official visit to Malta since she became EP president.

Earlier in the day she called on President George Vella, attended Mass to mark the feast of St Paul's Shipwreck and spent some time with supporters in Valletta. 

Roberta Metsola was accompanied by the husband and son of Daphne Caruana Galizia.

Metsola said she chose to visit the site because the European Parliament had committed to filling the gaps and address any shortcomings in the protection of journalists. 

"That project is still ongoing and we are still far from where we want to be. When I was elected, I dedicated my election to the work of Daphne and that of all EU investigative journalists. And I said that the EU stands up for the protection of journalists and freedom of the press. 

"This is a message I wanted to convey in my first official visit to Malta," she said. 

No commitment on domestic politics

Asked about her role within the PN and whether she will be helping her party colleagues in the upcoming general election, Metsola said her focus will now be on her work as EP president. 

She would not say whether she would get involved in domestic politics once her tenure is up in two and a half years' time. Instead, she said she does not distinguish between what is domestic and what is European. 

"I am here as a Maltese person and as a European in Malta, the same as everyone else in the European Parliament."

Metsola admitted to Times of Malta that since she was elected, it seemed as though her world had been turned "upside down". 

"This is not just about work, it's also about the way my family had to adapt to a new reality. But it is a reality that we handle with responsibility and loyalty. At the end of the day, I do all this with loyalty to my country," Metsola said. 

A Nationalist Party MEP, Metsola became the youngest European Parliament president and the first woman to lead the assembly in more than two decades when she was elected in January.

Metsola with Daphne Caruana Galizia's mother, Rose Vella.