European Parliament President Sassoli has been in hospital since the end of December
European Parliament President David Sassoli was treated in hospital for pneumonia in September
What: Reuters
Due to a defect in the immune system, European Parliament President David Sassoli has been hospitalized since the end of December. According to Parliament, Italy’s mandate ends this month, and his successor is scheduled to be determined next week.
eThe Speaker of Parliament, David Sassoli, has been in hospital since the end of December. Hospital spokesman Roberto Coelho said Monday that the hospital stay was “necessary due to serious complications caused by a defect in the immune system.” Accordingly, the Speaker of Parliament came to the hospital in Italy on December 26, and all his official appointments have since been cancelled.
In September, the 65-year-old Italian was already hospitalized with pneumonia and was unable to perform his duties as president of the European Union Parliament for several weeks.
Sassoli has presided over parliament since the 2019 European elections. His term ends this month. According to Parliament, MEPs will determine his successor during the plenum in Strasbourg next week, most likely on Tuesday.
The election of the Social Democratic Sasoulis and the handover of the post of Speaker of Parliament to the conservative European People’s Party (EPP) in the second half of the five-year legislative period was part of an agreement between EU heads of state and government in 2019. The Social Democrats group has sometimes declared that it will not leave the field to the People’s Party European after all. Sassoli expressed their “unanimous support” for the renewal of the candidacy.
However, in December, the S&D group declined to field a candidate, paving the way for the election of European People’s Party (EPP) candidate Roberta Mezzola. The Maltese is currently one of the Vice-Presidents of the European Parliament.