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Parliament’s chamber is now complete once again following the departure of long-term MEP Evelyne Gebhardt and the tragic death of David Sassoli. Gebhardt held senior roles during her 28 years in Parliament, including serving as a VicePresident from 2017 to 2019, the Vice-Chair of the People’s Republic of China Delegation and a long-term member of the Internal Market and Consumer Protection Committee. As she bids farewell to Brussels, she adds that she is not turning her back on Europe and that “Europe will continue to accompany me”. The seats have been filled by newcomers Camilla Laureti and René Repasi.

While both Laureti and Repasi are first-time MEPs, they bring with them a wealth of experience in EU affairs. Laureti, an Italian journalist, was a candidate in the last European Parliament elections but did not secure enough votes, so instead she became a Provincial Secretary of the Democratic Party in the province of Perugia. As a member of the Budgets Committee and the Agriculture and Rural Development Committee, her goal is to “bring the experience of the city council - small parliaments - into the larger parliament and, at the same time, bring back ideas, tools and resources here”.

Similarly, Repasi wants to be a bridge-builder between research and politics as “political decisions must be well-informed by high-quality research, and research must be inspired by real-life challenges that politics have to face”. After 13 years in academia, he is confident that his experience in party politics has prepared him for this task. As a member of the Internal Market and Consumer Protection Committee and a substitute on the Legal A£airs Committee, he aims to stand for a strong and fair internal market as his focus will be on digital markets, product safety and financial market regulation. Elsewhere in Parliament, Jörg Meuthen and Maxette Pirbakas have left the Identity and Democracy Group. Meuthen also left the Alternative für Deutschland (AfD) party over concerns about the stance the party will take in the future. In Commission news, two new Deputy DirectorGenerals have been appointed. Clemens Ladenburger is the new Deputy Director-General for Legal service (SJ) and Kestutis Sadauskas is the new Deputy Director-General for Maritime A£airs and Fisheries (MARE).