{"id":464806,"date":"2026-09-11T17:00:09","date_gmt":"2026-09-11T15:00:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.eunews.it\/2026\/09\/11\/tra-cordoglio-e-ricordi-il-saluto-a-emma-bonino-dal-parlamento-europeo\/"},"modified":"2026-09-11T18:03:03","modified_gmt":"2026-09-11T16:03:03","slug":"amid-expressions-of-grief-and-fond-memories-the-european-parliament-bids-farewell-to-emma-bonino","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.eunews.it\/en\/2026\/09\/11\/amid-expressions-of-grief-and-fond-memories-the-european-parliament-bids-farewell-to-emma-bonino\/","title":{"rendered":"Amid expressions of grief and fond memories, the European Parliament bids farewell to Emma Bonino"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Brussels \u2013 \u201c<a href=\"https:\/\/www.eunews.it\/en\/2026\/09\/11\/farewell-to-emma-bonino-who-carried-europe-in-her-mind-and-heart-throughout-her-life\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Emma Bonino<\/a> never waited for the world to be ready\u201d; on the contrary, \u201cshe always chose to forge ahead, showing others the way.\u201d This is how the President of the European Parliament, <strong>Roberta Metsola<\/strong>, has remembered the historic Radical Party figure, who passed away this morning (11 September) following a respiratory crisis. \u201c<strong>The Europe for which she fought will miss her,<\/strong>\u201d the President reiterated.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>Following the death of Emma Bonino, \u201cwe have lost one of the most courageous, independent, and consistent voices in the defence of human rights,\u201d said MEP (M5S) <strong>Carolina Morace<\/strong>. The Five Star Movement MP emphasised that \u201ceven in dark and difficult times,\u201d the founder of the +Europa party was able to show \u201call of us how to forge a path towards upholding rights in Italy and Europe.\u201d <strong>Among Bonino\u2019s political and civic commitments<\/strong>, Morace highlighted \u201c<strong>the right to voluntary termination of pregnancy, the campaign for the legalisation of abortion, the fight against female genital mutilation, and a foreign policy based on respect for international law and the rights of LGBTQ+ people.<\/strong>\u201d&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>The MEP for Renew Europe and Secretary-General of the European Democratic Party, <strong>Sandro Gozi<\/strong>, described the Radical Party leader as \u201ca great friend and one of the freest, clearest, and bravest voices in our Europe.\u201d She, who has served in both the European and Italian parliaments, <strong>believed in \u201ca democratic and federal Europe, strong enough to defend freedom and protect civil rights and human dignity; and brave enough to one day become the United States of Europe.\u201d<\/strong> This is not \u201can abstract ideal\u201d, the MEP emphasised, but \u201ca lifelong political struggle, waged with extraordinary determination, intelligence, and passion.\u201d For Gozi, therefore, \u201cEmma leaves us with something precious: the conviction that freedom is never won once and for all, that Europe must always be built and rebuilt, and that the battles worth fighting require courage, perseverance, and hope.\u201d&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>MEP (S&amp;D), <strong>Lucia Annunziata<\/strong>, took to her LinkedIn profile to highlight a specific phase in Bonino\u2019s career: her role as European Commissioner for Consumer Protection under the Commission led by the Luxembourger <strong>Jacques Louis Santer<\/strong>. \u201c<strong>She showed Italians something that was rarely seen: an Italian politician who commanded respect in Europe, who became a leader, who wielded real influence and power<\/strong>,\u201d explained the MEP. She went on to point out that Bonino \u201cdid not belong to any church, political or religious,\u201d a trait that \u201callowed her to be a free politician,\u201d and for this reason \u201cshe was appreciated even by those who did not share her views.\u201d&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>Although coming \u201cfrom different political backgrounds and sensibilities, and despite having held differing views on many issues,\u201d the European Parliament member for the People\u2019s Party (EPP) and chair of Forza Italia\u2019s National Council, <strong>Letizia Moratti<\/strong>, stated that she recognised in Bonino \u201cthe strength of her convictions, her consistency, and an extraordinary sense of institutional duty.\u201d In expressing her condolences, Moratti painted a picture of a \u201cfree, courageous, and tenacious woman, who fought passionately for her ideas throughout her life.\u201d <strong>A determination she also demonstrated while battling her illness, as she continued \u201cto participate in public life right up to the very end.\u201d<\/strong>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>A final tribute was also paid during the <a href=\"https:\/\/audiovisual.ec.europa.eu\/en\/media\/video\/I-293927\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">briefing<\/a> at the press conference to present next week\u2019s <a href=\"https:\/\/www.eunews.it\/en\/2026\/09\/11\/state-of-the-union-address-ceuta-the-wildfires-and-external-interference-the-topics-on-the-agenda-at-the-european-parliaments-plenary-session\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">plenary session<\/a> at the European Parliament. \u201cWe mourn the passing of a figure who served as a Member of the European Parliament in our group and was a leading figure in Italian liberalism,\u201d said the spokesperson for the Renew Group, <strong>Linda Aziz-Rohlje. <\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>European Parliament President Metsola: &#8220;The Europe for which she fought will miss her&#8221;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7908,"featured_media":464812,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"episode_type":"","audio_file":"","podmotor_file_id":"","podmotor_episode_id":"","cover_image":"","cover_image_id":"","duration":"","filesize":"","filesize_raw":"","date_recorded":"","explicit":"","block":"","jnews-multi-image_gallery":[],"jnews_single_post":{"format":"standard","override":[{"template":"1","parallax":"1","fullscreen":"1","layout":"right-sidebar","sidebar":"default-sidebar","second_sidebar":"default-sidebar","sticky_sidebar":"1","share_position":"top","share_float_style":"share-monocrhome","show_featured":"1","show_post_meta":"1","show_post_author":"1","show_post_author_image":"1","show_post_date":"1","post_date_format":"default","post_date_format_custom":"Y\/m\/d","show_post_category":"1","show_post_reading_time":"0","post_reading_time_wpm":"300","post_calculate_word_method":"str_word_count","show_zoom_button":"0","zoom_button_out_step":"2","zoom_button_in_step":"3","show_post_tag":"1","show_prev_next_post":"1","show_popup_post":"1","show_comment_section":"1","number_popup_post":"1","show_author_box":"0","show_post_related":"1","show_inline_post_related":"0"}],"image_override":[{"single_post_thumbnail_size":"crop-500","single_post_gallery_size":"crop-500"}],"trending_post_position":"meta","trending_post_label":"Trending","sponsored_post_label":"Sponsored 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