European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen has paid tribute to former European Parliament President David Sassoli at the inauguration of a parliament building in Brussels named after him, recalling his role during the early months of the Covid-19 pandemic and his commitment to European unity.
Von der Leyen described Sassoli as “a true custodian of the values our Union was built on” and said he belonged among figures after whom European Parliament buildings are named, including Simone Veil, Altiero Spinelli and Willy Brandt, according to her speech released by the Commission on Tuesday.
She told the ceremony that, on the first day of her first mandate, Sassoli invited the presidents of EU institutions to the House of European History and stopped at the busts of the EU’s founding fathers, including Jean Monnet and Alcide De Gasperi.
Von der Leyen said Sassoli told those attending that the institutions’ mission was to remember the values that inspired the founders because “that is what Europe needs for a new beginning.”
Pandemic recovery plan backed in 57 days
Recalling the early months of the pandemic, von der Leyen said Sassoli pressed for “a strong European response” and backed “a Europe of solidarity” so countries could recover quickly, according to the speech.
She said she sketched figures for the recovery plan on a paper tissue during a meeting with Sassoli on the Parliament’s terrace, and that the European Parliament fast-tracked the EU’s NextGenerationEU recovery package — the bloc’s post-pandemic funding plan — giving it approval in 57 days.
Von der Leyen also recounted Sassoli’s account of the fall of the Berlin Wall, saying he drove overnight from Rome to Berlin in 1989 as a young journalist to witness events first-hand.
She said Sassoli often returned to that moment as a symbol of Europe “finally” coming together and quoted him as saying, in Italian, “La speranza siamo noi” — “We are hope.”
