{"id":466331,"date":"2026-09-29T19:02:14","date_gmt":"2026-09-29T17:02:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.eunews.it\/2026\/09\/29\/un-nuovo-edificio-del-parlamento-europeo-prende-il-nome-di-david-sassoli\/"},"modified":"2026-09-29T19:44:26","modified_gmt":"2026-09-29T17:44:26","slug":"a-new-european-parliament-building-is-named-after-david-sassoli","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.eunews.it\/en\/2026\/09\/29\/a-new-european-parliament-building-is-named-after-david-sassoli\/","title":{"rendered":"An European Parliament building is named after David Sassoli"},"content":{"rendered":"

Brussels \u2013 From today, David Sassoli\u2019s name \u201cis not only associated with schools, public spaces, cultural and institutional venues, but also with a building of this European Parliament,\u201d \u201cthe institution to which he chose to dedicate himself over 17 years ago, the place he proudly hailed as an indispensable seat of democracy and the direct representation of European citizens.\u201d These were the words spoken in Brussels by Alessandra Vittorini<\/strong>, architect and wife of David Sassoli, after one of the European Parliament\u2019s buildings was today (29 September)\u00a0officially renamed<\/a> in honour of the former President of the European Parliament.<\/p>\n

During the official ceremony held at the Esplanade \u2013 the area in front of the European Parliament \u2013 Italy\u2019s Ambassador to the European Union, Vincenzo Celeste<\/strong>, read out a message from the President of the Italian Republic, Sergio Mattarella<\/strong>. The President wished to pay particular tribute to his \u201cleadership of the European Parliament during a period of extremely complex challenges in the Union\u2019s recent history, such as the pandemic emergency.<\/strong>\u201d As during the COVID-19 pandemic, when Sassoli was determined to find a way to keep the Parliament open and operational<\/a>\u00a0by utilising new technologies and holding meetings, including plenary sessions, online. Because \u201cdemocracy cannot be brought down by the virus, because we are the only European institution elected by the citizens and we want to represent and defend them,\u201d he maintained.<\/p>\n

Similarly, in her opening address, the President of the European Parliament, Roberta Metsola<\/strong>, emphasised that at that time, while \u201cthe world was closing in and many found themselves even more alone,\u201d Sassoli \u201copened the doors of the European Parliament in Brussels to women who had nowhere safe to turn,\u201d<\/b> because \u201cfor David, principles were not meant to remain mere words; they had to be translated into concrete actions.<\/strong>\u201d The case\u00a0mentioned by Metsola dates back to 2020, when Sassoli had made an agreement\u00a0with the Brussels-Capital Region and made the European Parliament\u2019s buildings available to accommodate the most vulnerable and the homeless, as well as distributing around a thousand meals a day to those most in need and to the healthcare workers assisting them.<\/p>\n

Another moment in Sassoli\u2019s story that Metsola highlighted was when \u201cin 2021, well before the Russian invasion of Ukraine, Moscow banned him from entering Russia,\u201d shortly before the invasion of Ukraine. The former journalist had been placed on a sort of \u201cblacklist<\/b>\u201d, in response to the targeted sanctions adopted by the European Union against Russian citizens in March 2021. That ban was \u201ca source of pride,\u201d Metsola clarified.<\/p>\n

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Today, \u201cthe Parliament\u2019s buildings are named after men and women who have helped Europe move forward: Simone Veil, Altiero Spinelli, Willy Brandt, and others,<\/strong>\u201d explained the President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen<\/strong>, adding that \u201cthis is exactly where David Sassoli belongs.\u201d The building named in honour of Sassoli is the third to be named after an Italian, following the one in memory of Altiero Spinelli in Brussels and the one dedicated to Alcide de Gasperi at the Commission\u2019s headquarters in Luxembourg. Among his many achievements, the President of the EU Commission was keen to highlight, above all, his role in Next Generation EU<\/strong> \u2013 the economic recovery fund created by the European Union to repair the damage caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. Von der Leyen recounted that in the early months of the pandemic, \u201cI jotted down some figures on a paper tissue: the central idea of the recovery plan we were working on,\u201d and to which \u201cDavid immediately agreed.\u201d Despite \u201call the difficulties of that period, the Parliament fast-tracked the NextGenerationEU process, giving the green light in just 57 days. The moment called for concrete action. And David answered that call,<\/strong>\u201d she emphasised.<\/p>\n

The Italian Minister for Foreign Affairs, Antonio Tajani<\/strong>, recalled having found himself \u201cworking alongside\u201d Sassoli, despite their different political affiliations, \u201calways with the same aim: to defend the institutions and defend Europe, because we believed in a Europe of values, and today this warning must not be underestimated.\u201d Meanwhile, the secretary of the Democratic Party, Elly Schlein<\/strong>, emphasised her desire to \u201cbridge the gap between the institutions and the people,\u201d taking \u201cEurope literally upon his shoulders, travelling to Fossoli with President von der Leyen and to the Greek islands at the height of the migration crisis, building bridges and opening the doors of the European Parliament during the pandemic.\u201d
\nOne of Sassoli\u2019s most important legacies, however, was perhaps best illustrated by the former Prime Minister, Romano Prodi<\/strong>: the desire to foster greater unity amongst the institutions. In a speech entitled \u201cA Europe that innovates, a Europe that protects and a Europe that is a beacon\u201d, <\/b>Sassoli had stated that \u201cwe believe that every country must apply its own rules and respect its own traditions, but it is up to Europe to ensure that every Member State can achieve these objectives,\u201d calling for less fragmentation amongst the EU institutions and a more cohesive European policy.
\nDavid Sassoli was an Italian journalist and politician who was elected President of the European Parliament on 3 July 2019, succeeding Antonio Tajani. He held this office until his death on 11 January 2022 at the age of 65. To honour David Sassoli\u2019s legacy, the Bureau of the European Parliament \u2013 comprising the President, the Vice-Presidents and the Quaestors \u2013 decided on 9 February 2026 to name the Treves building after the former President.
\n“Europe needs, above all, a new vision of hope \u2013 a vision that unites us, a vision that embodies our Union, our values and our civilisation, a vision that is self-evident to all Europeans and that enables us to come together,<\/strong>” Sassoli had stated in his final address as President of the European Parliament, while extending his Christmas and New Year wishes in December 2021. A message which, in today\u2019s divided and polarised Europe, is more relevant than ever.<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Following Spinelli and De Gasperi, he is the third Italian to receive this honour. Von der Leyen: \u201cThe Parliament\u2019s buildings are named after men and women who have helped Europe to progress, and this is where David belongs.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7908,"featured_media":466303,"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 by","disable_ad":"0","subtitle":""},"jnews_primary_category":[],"jnews_override_counter":{"view_counter_number":"0","share_counter_number":"0","like_counter_number":"0","dislike_counter_number":"0"},"footnotes":""},"categories":[25681],"tags":[25871,26005,27419,26322,25755,25804,25759,27684,35960],"class_list":["post-466331","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-politics","tag-antonio-tajani-en-2","tag-covid-19-en","tag-david-sassoli-en-2","tag-news-parliament-en","tag-sanctionsin","tag-roberta-metsolaat","tag-romano-prodi-en","tag-ursula-von-der-leyen"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.eunews.it\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/466331","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.eunews.it\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.eunews.it\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.eunews.it\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/7908"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.eunews.it\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=466331"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/www.eunews.it\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/466331\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":466339,"href":"https:\/\/www.eunews.it\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/466331\/revisions\/466339"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.eunews.it\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/466303"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.eunews.it\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=466331"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.eunews.it\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=466331"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.eunews.it\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=466331"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}