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Roberta Metsola (archive recording)
Photo: VINCENT KESSLER / REUTERS
The previous Vice-President of the European Parliament, Roberta Metsola, will take over as managing director after the death of David Sassoli.
According to the rules of procedure of the European Parliament, Metsola will hold the post until the new election of the top of the EU parliament next week, it said on Tuesday from parliamentary circles.
The 65-year-old President of Parliament died in an Italian hospital on Tuesday night.
According to his spokesman Roberto Cuillo, he had been there for more than two weeks "for a serious complication due to a dysfunction of the immune system."
The memorial service should therefore take place in Rome on Friday.
The 42-year-old conservative Metsola is running to succeed Sassoli and was considered the favorite even before the Italian's death.
According to the rules of procedure of the EU Parliament, if the office of President becomes vacant, "a vice-president determined according to the order of precedence" takes over the post until a new president is elected.
The first of 14 Vice-Presidents of the EU Parliament is currently Metsola, who is temporarily moving up to the top post.
As the EU Parliament also said, the election for the chairmanship of the parliament is scheduled to take place next week during the plenary session in Strasbourg.
The final decision on this will be made this week by a top group, which also includes the group leaders.
Even before Sassoli's death, the election for the presidency of the EU Parliament had been scheduled for the coming week.
Sassoli's tenure ended this month after two and a half years.
When Sassoli was unable to attend plenary sessions in the autumn due to pneumonia, Metsola was already replacing him.
She was shocked by Sassoli's death on Tuesday.
"Europe has lost a leader, I have lost a friend, democracy has lost a champion," said the Maltese MEP on Twitter.
as / AFP
