President David Sassoli Dies Aged 65

President of the European Parliament David Sassoli died early on 11 January aged 65. On 10 January his spokesman announced that he had been admitted to hospital in Italy due to a dystunction with his immune system.

• Sassoli, an Italian MEP from the centre-left Democratic Party which sits within the Progressive Alliance of Socialists and Democrats (S&D) political group, had served as Parliament president since July 2019.
• He only announced a few weeks ago that he would not be seeking a second two-and-a-half year term in office. Under an agreement between the S&D and centre-right European People's Party (EPP) leaderships hashed out following the 2019 European Parliament elections, an S&D MEP would hold the Parliament presidency for one term before handing over to an EPP MEP.
• Roberta Metsola, an MEP from Malta's Nationalist Party, is expected to be voted in as the new president at the Parliament plenary session next Tuesday.