{"id":58390,"date":"2026-06-19T08:07:22","date_gmt":"2026-06-19T07:07:22","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/livenewsmalta.com\/?p=58390"},"modified":"2026-06-19T08:07:22","modified_gmt":"2026-06-19T07:07:22","slug":"metsola-to-eu-leaders-we-need-to-deliver-we-dont-have-the-luxury-of-time","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/livenewsmalta.com\/index.php\/2026\/06\/19\/metsola-to-eu-leaders-we-need-to-deliver-we-dont-have-the-luxury-of-time\/","title":{"rendered":"Metsola to EU leaders: \u201cWe need to deliver. We don\u2019t have the luxury of time.\u201d"},"content":{"rendered":"<div class=\"ep_gridcolumn ep-m_product ep-layout_followingscroll\" data-view1200=\"1\" data-view1020=\"1\" data-view750=\"1\" data-view640=\"1\" data-view480=\"0\" data-view320=\"0\" data-following=\"1\">\n<div class=\"ep_gridcolumn-content\">\n<div class=\"ep-a_share ep-layout_socialnetwok\">\n<div class=\"ep_share\">\n<p>At the European Council, President Roberta Metsola called for seizing the momentum on enlargement, competitiveness and the next long-term EU budget.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"ep_gridcolumn\" data-view1200=\"6\" data-view1020=\"6\" data-view750=\"10\" data-view640=\"6\" data-view480=\"8\" data-view320=\"4\">\n<div class=\"ep_gridrow\">\n<div class=\"ep_gridrow-content\">\n<div class=\"ep_gridcolumn ep-m_product\" data-view1200=\"6\" data-view1020=\"6\" data-view750=\"10\" data-view640=\"6\" data-view480=\"8\" data-view320=\"4\">\n<div class=\"ep_gridcolumn-content\">\n<div class=\"ep-a_text\" data-wysiwyg=\"\">\n<p class=\"ep-wysiwig_paragraph\">On\u00a0<strong>enlargement<\/strong>, welcoming the opening of the first accession negotiation cluster with Ukraine and Moldova, Metsola said the decision sent a powerful signal that: \u201c<em>Enlargement is no longer a distant promise. It is here, it is happening.\u201d\u00a0<\/em>Describing enlargement as a \u201cwin-win\u201d and referring to Parliament\u2019s most recent progress reports, she said: \u201c<em>We need to deliver. We do not have the luxury of time<\/em>.\u201d While underlining that gradual integration measures and closer access to the Single Market can help bring candidate countries closer to the Union, she also stressed that this \u201c<em>can never become a substitute for full EU membership<\/em>\u201d.<\/p>\n<p class=\"ep-wysiwig_paragraph\">On the future\u00a0<strong>long-term EU budget<\/strong>, Metsola assured leaders that \u201c<em>Parliament will be constructive<\/em>\u201d in the negotiations \u201c<em>but will also defend its position<\/em>\u201d. She called for Parliament\u2019s early involvement in the process and to advance discussions on new own resources. \u201c<em>We all agree that we need an ambitious budget. We all agree that it must match the scale of the challenges we face. Sometimes we get so caught up in old dividing lines that we miss the common ground in front of us<\/em>,\u201d Metsola said. She was optimistic that \u201c<em>if we proceed in this spirit, there is no reason why we cannot try to reach an agreement by the end of the year<\/em>\u201d.<\/p>\n<p class=\"ep-wysiwig_paragraph\">On\u00a0<strong>competitiveness<\/strong>, Metsola highlighted the recent agreements reached between Parliament and Council on simplifying rules for artificial intelligence, midcaps and defence. She also pointed to the Market Integration and Supervision package and EU Inc. as flagship projects that Parliament is swiftly working on to remove barriers in the Single Market and address the concerns raised by European businesses. She welcomed the regular reviews on the\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.europarl.europa.eu\/news\/en\/press-room\/20260617IPR45607\/a-solid-start-first-progress-report-on-the-one-europe-one-market-roadmap\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">One Europe, One Market Roadmap<\/a>\u00a0arguing that this will help keep Europe focused on delivery. On progress under the Joint Declaration on EU legislative priorities for 2026, she noted that here too Parliament delivered with the adoption of the Return Regulation. With the Pact on Migration and Asylum in application, \u201c<em>Europe now has the tools<\/em>\u00a0<em>to address this challenge<\/em>\u201d.<\/p>\n<p>Source: European Parliament<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"pvc_clear\"><\/div>\n<p id=\"pvc_stats_58390\" class=\"pvc_stats all  \" data-element-id=\"58390\" style=\"\"><i class=\"pvc-stats-icon medium\" aria-hidden=\"true\"><svg xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" version=\"1.0\" viewBox=\"0 0 502 315\" preserveAspectRatio=\"xMidYMid meet\"><g transform=\"translate(0,332) scale(0.1,-0.1)\" fill=\"\" stroke=\"none\"><path d=\"M2394 3279 l-29 -30 -3 -207 c-2 -182 0 -211 15 -242 39 -76 157 -76 196 0 15 31 17 60 15 243 l-3 209 -33 29 c-26 23 -41 29 -80 29 -41 0 -53 -5 -78 -31z\"\/><path d=\"M3085 3251 c-45 -19 -58 -50 -96 -229 -47 -217 -49 -260 -13 -295 52 -53 146 -42 177 20 16 31 87 366 87 410 0 70 -86 122 -155 94z\"\/><path d=\"M1751 3234 c-13 -9 -29 -31 -37 -50 -12 -29 -10 -49 21 -204 19 -94 39 -189 45 -210 14 -50 54 -80 110 -80 34 0 48 6 76 34 21 21 34 44 34 59 0 14 -18 113 -40 219 -37 178 -43 195 -70 221 -36 32 -101 37 -139 11z\"\/><path d=\"M1163 3073 c-36 -7 -73 -59 -73 -102 0 -56 133 -378 171 -413 34 -32 83 -37 129 -13 70 36 67 87 -16 290 -86 209 -89 214 -129 231 -35 14 -42 15 -82 7z\"\/><path d=\"M3689 3066 c-15 -9 -33 -30 -42 -48 -48 -103 -147 -355 -147 -375 0 -98 131 -148 192 -74 13 15 57 108 97 206 80 196 84 226 37 273 -30 30 -99 39 -137 18z\"\/><path d=\"M583 2784 c-38 -19 -67 -74 -58 -113 9 -42 211 -354 242 -373 16 -10 45 -18 66 -18 51 0 107 52 107 100 0 39 -1 41 -124 234 -80 126 -108 162 -133 173 -41 17 -61 16 -100 -3z\"\/><path d=\"M4250 2784 c-14 -9 -74 -91 -133 -183 -95 -150 -107 -173 -107 -213 0 -55 33 -94 87 -104 67 -13 90 8 211 198 130 202 137 225 78 284 -27 27 -42 34 -72 34 -22 0 -50 -8 -64 -16z\"\/><path d=\"M2275 2693 c-553 -48 -1095 -270 -1585 -649 -135 -104 -459 -423 -483 -476 -23 -49 -22 -139 2 -186 73 -142 361 -457 571 -626 285 -228 642 -407 990 -497 242 -63 336 -73 660 -74 310 0 370 5 595 52 535 111 1045 392 1455 803 122 121 250 273 275 326 19 41 19 137 0 174 -41 79 -309 363 -465 492 -447 370 -946 591 -1479 653 -113 14 -422 18 -536 8z m395 -428 c171 -34 330 -124 456 -258 112 -119 167 -219 211 -378 27 -96 24 -300 -5 -401 -72 -255 -236 -447 -474 -557 -132 -62 -201 -76 -368 -76 -167 0 -236 14 -368 76 -213 98 -373 271 -451 485 -162 444 86 934 547 1084 153 49 292 57 452 25z m909 -232 c222 -123 408 -262 593 -441 76 -74 138 -139 138 -144 0 -16 -233 -242 -330 -319 -155 -123 -309 -223 -461 -299 l-81 -41 32 46 c18 26 49 83 70 128 143 306 141 649 -6 957 -25 52 -61 116 -79 142 l-34 47 45 -20 c26 -10 76 -36 113 -56z m-2057 25 c-40 -58 -105 -190 -130 -263 -110 -324 -59 -707 132 -981 25 -35 42 -64 37 -64 -19 0 -241 119 -326 174 -188 122 -406 314 -532 468 l-58 71 108 103 c185 178 428 349 672 473 66 33 121 60 123 61 2 0 -10 -19 -26 -42z\"\/><path d=\"M2375 1950 c-198 -44 -350 -190 -395 -379 -18 -76 -8 -221 19 -290 114 -284 457 -406 731 -260 98 52 188 154 231 260 27 69 37 214 19 290 -38 163 -166 304 -326 360 -67 23 -215 33 -279 19z\"\/><\/g><\/svg><\/i> <img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"16\" height=\"16\" alt=\"Loading\" src=\"http:\/\/livenewsmalta.com\/wp-content\/plugins\/page-views-count\/ajax-loader-2x.gif\" border=0 \/><\/p>\n<div class=\"pvc_clear\"><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>At the European Council, President Roberta Metsola called for seizing the momentum on enlargement, competitiveness and the next long-term EU budget. On\u00a0enlargement, welcoming the opening of the first accession negotiation cluster with Ukraine and Moldova, Metsola said the decision sent a powerful signal that: \u201cEnlargement is no longer a distant promise. It is here, it [&hellip;]<\/p>\n<div class=\"pvc_clear\"><\/div>\n<p id=\"pvc_stats_58390\" class=\"pvc_stats all  \" data-element-id=\"58390\" style=\"\"><i class=\"pvc-stats-icon medium\" aria-hidden=\"true\"><svg xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" version=\"1.0\" viewBox=\"0 0 502 315\" preserveAspectRatio=\"xMidYMid meet\"><g transform=\"translate(0,332) scale(0.1,-0.1)\" fill=\"\" stroke=\"none\"><path d=\"M2394 3279 l-29 -30 -3 -207 c-2 -182 0 -211 15 -242 39 -76 157 -76 196 0 15 31 17 60 15 243 l-3 209 -33 29 c-26 23 -41 29 -80 29 -41 0 -53 -5 -78 -31z\"\/><path d=\"M3085 3251 c-45 -19 -58 -50 -96 -229 -47 -217 -49 -260 -13 -295 52 -53 146 -42 177 20 16 31 87 366 87 410 0 70 -86 122 -155 94z\"\/><path d=\"M1751 3234 c-13 -9 -29 -31 -37 -50 -12 -29 -10 -49 21 -204 19 -94 39 -189 45 -210 14 -50 54 -80 110 -80 34 0 48 6 76 34 21 21 34 44 34 59 0 14 -18 113 -40 219 -37 178 -43 195 -70 221 -36 32 -101 37 -139 11z\"\/><path d=\"M1163 3073 c-36 -7 -73 -59 -73 -102 0 -56 133 -378 171 -413 34 -32 83 -37 129 -13 70 36 67 87 -16 290 -86 209 -89 214 -129 231 -35 14 -42 15 -82 7z\"\/><path d=\"M3689 3066 c-15 -9 -33 -30 -42 -48 -48 -103 -147 -355 -147 -375 0 -98 131 -148 192 -74 13 15 57 108 97 206 80 196 84 226 37 273 -30 30 -99 39 -137 18z\"\/><path d=\"M583 2784 c-38 -19 -67 -74 -58 -113 9 -42 211 -354 242 -373 16 -10 45 -18 66 -18 51 0 107 52 107 100 0 39 -1 41 -124 234 -80 126 -108 162 -133 173 -41 17 -61 16 -100 -3z\"\/><path d=\"M4250 2784 c-14 -9 -74 -91 -133 -183 -95 -150 -107 -173 -107 -213 0 -55 33 -94 87 -104 67 -13 90 8 211 198 130 202 137 225 78 284 -27 27 -42 34 -72 34 -22 0 -50 -8 -64 -16z\"\/><path d=\"M2275 2693 c-553 -48 -1095 -270 -1585 -649 -135 -104 -459 -423 -483 -476 -23 -49 -22 -139 2 -186 73 -142 361 -457 571 -626 285 -228 642 -407 990 -497 242 -63 336 -73 660 -74 310 0 370 5 595 52 535 111 1045 392 1455 803 122 121 250 273 275 326 19 41 19 137 0 174 -41 79 -309 363 -465 492 -447 370 -946 591 -1479 653 -113 14 -422 18 -536 8z m395 -428 c171 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Lynch","author_link":"http:\/\/livenewsmalta.com\/index.php\/author\/bernardlynch\/"},"uagb_comment_info":0,"uagb_excerpt":"At the European Council, President Roberta Metsola called for seizing the momentum on enlargement, competitiveness and the next long-term EU budget. On\u00a0enlargement, welcoming the opening of the first accession negotiation cluster with Ukraine and Moldova, Metsola said the decision sent a powerful signal that: \u201cEnlargement is no longer a distant promise. It is here, it&hellip;","_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/livenewsmalta.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/58390","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/livenewsmalta.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/livenewsmalta.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/livenewsmalta.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/livenewsmalta.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=58390"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"http:\/\/livenewsmalta.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/58390\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":58392,"href":"http:\/\/livenewsmalta.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/58390\/revisions\/58392"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/livenewsmalta.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/58391"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/livenewsmalta.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=58390"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/livenewsmalta.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=58390"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/livenewsmalta.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=58390"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}