STRASBOURG - Roberta Metsola secured broad backing for a new term as president of the European Parliament on Tuesday, becoming the first woman to win a second term as head of the EU assembly.

Metsola, a Maltese lawmaker who in 2022 became the first woman in 20 years to head the European Union assembly, is only the second president, after Germany's Martin Schulz, to win another term since the EU Parliament became a directly elected institution in 1979.

Metsola was approved by a large majority of EU lawmakers to lead the EU assembly for a further two and a half years, with 562 backing her reappointment, out of the 623 that voted.

"This must be a house that cannot be afraid to lead and to change. We have started, but we have not yet finished," said Metsola, 45, who is a member of the centre-right European People's Party.

Addressing the EU assembly, Metsola said the Parliament should continue to be a strong supporter of Ukraine, the rule of law, and seek the power to propose EU legislation.

Currently, only the European Commission can put forward new EU legislation.

In continuing the largely ceremonial role, Metsola will preside over the 720-member parliament which negotiates and adopts EU legislative proposals and approves the bloc's budget.

In her first term, the fast-rising conservative politician won plaudits from lawmakers for raising the profile of the EU assembly and her steadfast support for Ukraine.

She was the first leader of an EU institution to visit Kyiv following Russia's February 2022 invasion, and has consistently backed Ukraine's bid to join the EU.

Some EU officials told Reuters they valued Metsola's ability to unite the centrist parties as a bulwark force in the EU assembly, after the far-right made strong gains in last month's European elections.

She has also tried to repair the parliament's reputation after the Qatargate bribes-for-lobbying scandal, proposing tighter rules on lawmakers' financial declarations and lobbyist contacts, although campaigners say the reforms have not been fully enacted.

The European Parliament is the EU's only directly elected institution. Metsola, a mother of four sons from the EU's smallest country, became an EU lawmaker in 2013, before rising through the institution's ranks to become its youngest ever president.

She faced criticism in the run-up to her initial election over her stance on abortion. As an EU lawmaker from Malta, where abortion is largely illegal, Metsola had opposed resolutions calling for women to have access to safe abortions.

But on becoming EU Parliament president, she committed to represent the EU assembly's position on sexual and reproductive rights, including women's rights to access safe abortions.

  - Reuters