S&D Group president Iratxe García Pérez and all Socialists and Democrats in the European Parliament mourn the passing away of EP president, David Sassoli.

"This is a very sad week for all of us. We are devastated by our loss and we will keep working for the values that our friend and colleague David Sassoli fought for. President Sassoli did a great job during the last two and a half years. He made it possible for the parliament to continue its work during the worst period of the pandemic, and led this house in a spirit of dialogue, respect and cooperation; always working for the citizens and for a Europe of cohesion, justice and solidarity.

“He never forgot, not for a single moment, about those who were most in need: during the most severe lockdown he set-up a soup kitchen and a welcome centre in the Parliament’s premises for women suffering gender violence. This example of his kindness is why so many people attended the minute of silence in front of the Parliament the day he passed away.”

You can read Iratxe García's personal note here: "David Sassoli, the friendly hand"

S&D leader Iratxe García invited everyone in the house to hold a minute of silence in front of the Parliament at 13:00 on Tuesday 11 January to pay tribute to David Sassoli.

 

Sassoli 1 minute silence

 

On Monday evening 17 January, the Parliament will pay tribute to Parliament President David Sassoli, who passed away earlier this week, in a ceremony in Strasbourg. Council President Charles Michel, Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, French President Emmanuel Macron and former Italian Prime Minister and former MEP Enrico Letta, as well as political group leaders, will speak during the ceremony. Sassoli had been a member of the Parliament since 2009 and was elected President in July 2019 for the first half of this legislature.

David Sassoli was born in Florence on May 30, 1956. He started working as a journalist at small newspapers and news agencies, before moving to the editorial office of Il Giorno in Rome, where he worked for seven years. In 1992, he began working as a television news reporter and correspondent for TG3. Subsequently he worked on news programmes on Rai Uno and Rai Due, before joining the editorial staff of TG1 in 1999 as a special correspondent. Over the next 10 years, he was responsible for managing prime time news broadcasts, and covering major national and international events. In 2007, he became Deputy Director of TG1 and responsible for in-depth programmes TV7 and TG1 Special. He was one of the founders of the Partito Democratico (PD) when it was formed in 2007 and worked tirelessly to promote the progressive agenda in Italy and the EU.

On 7 June 2009, he was elected to the European Parliament as a member for central Italy. In the 2009-2014 legislature, he was head of delegation of the Partito Democratico in the European Parliament. In 2014, he was re-elected as an MEP and was elected Vice-President of the European Parliament, with responsibility for Mediterranean Policy, the budget, and buildings. He was a member of the Committee for Transport and Tourism, and led on European railway reform (4th Railway Package), and the Single European Sky. In May 2019, he began his third term as an MEP for central Italy and on 3 July, he was elected President of the European Parliament.