European Parliament’s Quietest Week Ever? President Metsola Does All the Heavy Lifting
If you were hoping for dramatic debates or legislative fireworks from the European Parliament the week of May 11-17, 2026, you’re in for a disappointment. In what might be the political equivalent of a ghost town, the Parliament has essentially cleared its schedule—except for one very busy person: President Metsola.
The weekly agenda reveals a stunning lack of plenary sessions, committee meetings, delegations, public hearings, and formal sittings. That’s right: zero, zilch, nada across all categories. It’s as if someone hit the “out of office” button for the entire institution.
But fear not! President Metsola is single-handedly keeping the lights on. On Tuesday, she’ll address a Copenhagen summit about keeping children safe in the AI era (via video, naturally—why travel when you can Zoom?), meet with some bishops, and commemorate a Spanish senator’s 25th death anniversary. Wednesday brings a Conference of Presidents meeting, a chat with Commission Executive Vice-President Mînzatu, and another video address. Thursday? Just a quick virtual appearance at a sustainability forum.
The only other sign of life is a press conference about a “European Single Ticket” initiative (one continent, one ticket—revolutionary!) and the standard pre-session briefing on Wednesday.
So what’s everyone else doing? Taking an early summer holiday? Binge-watching EU regulation documentaries? Your guess is as good as ours. At least President Metsola’s calendar is full enough for three people.