The President of the European Parliament was caught plagiarizing in her graduation thesis – this is the conclusion of an investigation by the University of Malta.
The President of the European Parliament holds the highest formal position in the EU.
Metsola studied law at the University of Malta and in 2003 completed a 135-page graduation thesis titled “Electoral Systems and Election Outcomes: A Comparative Study.” Since then, she has held the title of LL.D – Doctor of Laws. While this is not a scientific degree but rather an academic one, Metsola refers to herself as “Dr. Metsola” on her European People’s Party website (a title typically used by individuals with doctoral degrees, i.e., those who have defended a dissertation).
Plagiarism hunter Stefan Weber claims that Metsola’s thesis is “almost half plagiarized.” His expert opinion lists 188 instances of plagiarism or improper citation of sources.
The University of Malta also conducted its own investigation, the results of which were shared with BILD. The findings were the same: Metsola, in some parts of her work, either failed to cite sources at all or did so incorrectly. She applied the “copy-paste” method and compiled texts from others.
Metsola has not commented on these accusations, but her communications manager, Mina Andreeva, stated:
“Ms. Metsola didn’t write a doctoral thesis. The academic standards for her graduation thesis at the time were entirely different.”
However, the University of Malta disagrees with this. It sharply criticized its graduate for “elements of plagiarism or texts that were either not cited or incorrectly quoted.” Nevertheless, the university decided not to revoke Metsola’s degree: “Serious flaws” do indeed significantly reduce the value of the thesis as a scientific work, but they “do not completely nullify it.”
