Lord Speaker pays tribute to late European counterpart
Lord McFall of Alcluith, the Lord Speaker has paid tribute to David Sassoli, president of the European Parliament since 2019, following his death on 11 January. Sassoli, originally from Florence, Italy, was aged 65 when he died after a short illness. Sassoli had been a centre-left MEP since 2009, and as presiding officer of the European Parliament, was counterpart to Lord McFall.
McFall said Sassoli was “an outstanding president of the European Parliament during a period of enormous change since his election in 2019. His friendship and cooperation with the UK Parliament was invaluable.
“He believed in the power of parliamentarians coming together to consider, and to help address, the major challenges facing the international community.
“He will be sorely missed, and on behalf of the House of Lords I offer our deepest condolences to the European Parliament and to
President Sassoli’s family and friends.”