“Dear Alessandra, distinguished colleagues, friends, it is a great honour for me today to unveil in your presence the portrait of the late President David Sassoli in the Portraits Gallery of former EP Presidents”. Roberta Metsola delivered an address in Brussels today at the ceremony for the unveiling of Sassoli’s portrait. “It was very important for David that this house of democracy should reopen its doors after the pandemic, so that in this Parliament Europeans could meet, talk and think together”. “David Sassoli will be remembered in this house as a true European leader, a champion of democracy who was able to stoically guide this Assembly through what would have been an existential crisis, had he not been firmly at the helm. During this global pandemic, the legislative and oversight role of our Parliament has been put to the test. It has not been easy. But while President Sassoli was at the helm of the European Parliament – even during the most critical months of the lockdown – democracy has never stopped. The European Parliament has exercised its co-legislative role on important packages that Europe and its citizens needed: the Covid response with testing and vaccines; an unprecedented post-pandemic recovery plan; and much more”.
“It has not been easy – Metsola added – to make a transcontinental Parliament with 24 working languages work remotely, but we made it, thanks to the courageous decisions of my predecessor. Not only has David Sassoli’s Parliament been able to do its job, but this success has translated into a powerful message of confidence in democracy all over the world”.