The President of the European Parliament, Roberta Metsola, will be in Rome tomorrow, Thursday January 29^th, for a number of official meetings with the Holy See and with some of the highest authorities of the Republic of Italy. During the morning – as the Directorate-General for Communication of the European Parliament pointed out – President Metsola will be given audience by Pope Leo XIV and will have a bilateral meeting with card. Pietro Parolin, Secretary of State of the Holy See. This will be followed by meetings with the Prime Minister, Giorgia Meloni, the President of the Senate, Ignazio La Russa, and the President of the Chamber of Deputies, Lorenzo Fontana. Then, President Metsola will give a keynote speech at “L’eredità di De Gasperi: l’Europa della difesa della libertà” (De Gasperi’s legacy: the Europe of the defence of freedom, ndt), an event held in the premises of the European Parliament in Piazza Venezia 11, which will be attended by Vice-Presidents Pina Picierno and Antonella Sberna and by the Italian members of the European Parliament. Such visit “is part of the dialogue among European, national and religious institutions on the main political issues and the core values of the EU, with a special focus on the geopolitical situation, the protection of freedom, competitiveness, and the role of Europe in the international context”.
More specifically, President Metsola’s audience with Pope Leo will take place at 9.30am. At 10.00am, she will meet card. Parolin. Later in the morning, she will meet Ignazio La Russa. In the early afternoon, she will have a meeting with Lorenzo Fontana. The talk with Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni has been set at 03.30pm. At 04.15pm, Metsola will give a keynote speech about “L’eredità di De Gasperi: l’Europa della difesa della libertà” (De Gasperi’s legacy: the Europe of the defence of freedom, ndt).