The European Parliament is to honour the memory of the late David Sassoli at a plenary session in Strasbourg on Monday.
The former president of the EU legislature died on Jan. 11 after several months of poor health. He was 65.
Last week, EU leaders paid warm tributes to Sassoli.
His fellow EU parliamentarians held a minute’s silence in his memory while Italy also honoured the late Social Democrat with a state funeral in Rome.
Born in Florence on May 30, 1956, Sassoli had been a member of the EU assembly for more than 10 years, after a switch from journalism to politics.
He began his career working for smaller newspapers, eventually joining the Rome daily Il Giornio in 1985 and later moving to the public broadcaster RAI.
As president, Sassoli managed the European Parliament’s transition to remote working during the COVID-19 pandemic.
He helped EU leaders steer the bloc’s unprecedented pandemic recovery package to adoption and also reached an agreement with the EU governments on the bloc’s long-term budget in 2020.
During the pandemic, Sassoli opened the EU assembly’ premises as a woman’s shelter for victims of violence and to provide meals to charities.
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He was critical of many EU members’ migration policies and repeatedly advocated on behalf of migrants.
The former centre-left prime minister of Italy and EU parliamentarian, Enrico Letta, is to give a eulogy at the ceremony.
Sassoli was due to step down in 2022 under a power-sharing agreement with the European Parliament’s center-right group.
His successor is to be elected on Tuesday. (DPA/NAN)
