european parliament On the first anniversary of his death on January 11, 2022, this Wednesday honors former president David Sassoli.While still in office and opening the doors of the European Parliament to the most vulnerable, he remembered his progressive faith and how he put it into practice during the worst of the pandemic.
“A year ago Europe lost a leader, lost a champion of democracy, and we lost a friend. David Sassoli a man of faithalways has the ability to put into action the values she believes in,” recalling her successor, Roberta Metsola, who heads the European Parliament.
At the commemoration ceremony that brought together about 200 deputies of the European Parliament, workers and their deputies in the gallery where the portraits of the heads of institutions are exhibited, the Hymn of Joy echoed today and Metsola placed a bouquet of white flowers in front of the painting. former president of italy
Sassoli passed away on January 11, 2022 65 years old in a hospital in Italy from complications that follow your immune system dysfunction.
Metsola, who served as acting president for a week following Sassoli’s unexpected death before he was officially elected, praised how Italians behaved. Parliament continued to operate remotely in order to process the most urgent measures in response to the pandemic. and stressed the fight against inequality.
“He wanted a hopeful Europe. And as he said, we can be that hope when we don’t ignore those in need, when we don’t build walls on our borders, and when we fight against all kinds of injustice,” he added.
On social networks, the head of the Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, referred to the memory of the Italians: “A memory that shows us the way” and why authoritarian regimes fear Europe and its values, he recalled as “a prophecy” a question he asked himself long before Russia invaded Ukraine.
“A year later, we miss your intelligence and vitality more than ever. A year ago we said goodbye to a proud European who was a warm, direct, authentic and inspiring leader. Dear David, The memory of the way you think and act still lives within us“, Charles Michel, president of the European Council, wrote on Twitter.
Iratxe García, head of the European social democratic group, recalled his insistence on more humane treatment of immigrants or the rights of the LGTBI people, saying: “No one before him had put the home of European democracy at the service of those who needed it most”.
At the start of the epidemic, Sassoli presented menus prepared by the kitchens of the European Parliament for people in need and health workers, and made part of the European Parliament’s fleet of vehicles or its headquarters in Brussels and Strasbourg ready to welcome patients or women. . in risky situations as well as other vulnerable profiles.
The Church of Our Lady, in the center of Brussels, this afternoon, it will host a service in memory of Sassoli with the participation of Metsola..