Metsola appoints Matthew Tabone as head of cabinet

Roberta Metsola has appointed her long-time aide and brother-in-law Matthew Tabone as the head of her cabinet as President of the European Parliament.

Tabone joined the European Parliament in 2013 as head of President Metsola’s MEP office. He has been part of her cabinet as Head of her Private Office and Public Relations since her election as President.

In the last years, Tabone has led different teams within the Cabinet, including managing a transparency reform and being tasked with the coordination of the President’s engagement with the European public in the run up to the European Parliament elections last June.

He takes over from Leticia Zuleta De Reales Ansaldo who has taken up her post as Director for relations with National Parliaments within the European Parliament.

In 2022, Tabone was touted for the role, but Metsola was being challenged on the timing of the appointment over the Qatargate scandal that has rocked the EP and its implications over nepotism and undue influence in the EP. He was not appointed at the time.

While EP rules from 2009 ban MEPs from appointing direct relations, Tabone is not considered a first-degree relative.

The role of head of cabinet, paid at some €15,000-€20,000 a month, involves maintaining relations with political groups and the EP’s various administrative units, as well as other institutions.

In 2023, Matthew Tabone was named by Politico, a news portal that covers EU and international matters, as one of Brussels Top 40 most powerful people.