The European Parliament commemorated its president David Sassoli, who died on 11 January at the age of 65 .
The extraordinary session was also attended by many premieres and presidents of EU countries and party leaders.
"Europe is openness. David, grasped a fundamental point of European identity when he said that Europe is powerful only when it does not close in on itself," said the secretary of the Democratic Party Enrico Letta in his speech.
"David had this great gift of looking beyond, he knew how not to stop at appearances and knew how to get to the substance", added Letta, recalling how "his whole life has been dedicated to giving words to the voiceless, to giving hope to those who do not. has".
For the French president Emmanuel Macron Sassoli was "a man whose vision is as broad as a continent". Macron also highlighted the convinced pro-European political commitment of the EU president, who “planted many stones in the European Union building and prepared as many for its future”.
"You have been a lion in the service of European democracy", said the president of the EU Council, Charles Michel, to Sassoli.
"You naturally inspired respect beyond the function, respect for your warm, simple, authentic person, smiling and decisive", continued Michel.
Sassoli "made a difference, he left his mark. His battle against poverty, against injustice, and isolation will be an example for us. And his appeal to Europe to protect the most vulnerable, to abandon indifference and helping to build a new world that respects people and nature will continue to resonate ", were the words of the interim president of the EU Parliament Roberta Metsola, whose name is at the top of the list of possible successors, of the former Journalist.
The president of the EU Commission Ursula von der Leyen had to renounce her intervention in the plenary, due to a case of positive Covid in her staff. But he still remembered Sassoli with a post on Twitter, accompanied by a white rose: "My heart cries for having to give up the tribute for my great friend David Sassoli. I want to pay homage to him once again with a white rose, a symbol of his commitment politics and morals of a lifetime. Good way, David, "von der Leyen wrote on his official profile.
(Unioneonline / lf)
INTERVENTION BY ENRICO LETTA: