David Sassoli: EU Parliament President Sassoli again in the hospital

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David Sassoli in mid-December

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Geert Vanden Wijngaert / AP

The President of the European Parliament, David Sassoli, is seriously ill.

The 65-year-old will be treated in a hospital in his home country, Italy, said a spokesman for the EU Parliament in Brussels on Monday.

The stay had become necessary "because of a serious complication due to a dysfunction of the immune system."

Sassoli has been hospitalized in Italy since December 26th, and all of his official appointments as President of the EU Parliament have been canceled, the spokesman added.

At first there was no further information.

The stay in the hospital had not previously been announced.

In October, Sassoli already missed a session of parliament because he had a fever.

He was previously hospitalized for pneumonia.

Sassoli's term expires next week

Sassoli belongs to the social democratic party Partito Democratico (PD).

He has chaired the EU Parliament since the 2019 European elections.

His term of office expires next week.

The election of the 65-year-old Social Democrat and handing over the office of President of Parliament to the European People's Party (EPP) in the second half of the five-year legislative period were part of an agreement between the EU heads of state and government in 2019.

more on the subject

President of the EU Parliament: Social Democrats say »basta« to SassoliBy Markus Becker, Brussels

In November it still looked as if the Social Democrats did not want to leave the field to the EPP after all.

At the time, they announced that Sassoli had their "unanimous support".

In December, however, the Social Democrats gave up the project.

The main reason for the Social Democrats' resignation was the lack of chances for Sassoli's candidacy.

Sassoli, too, reportedly admitted this at the time - and declared that he was not standing because he did not want to split the pro-European forces in parliament.

slü / dpa / AFP