He died Tuesday morning at the age of 65 in the municipality of Aviano in the Friuli Venezia Giulia region, said spokesman Roberto Cuillo. On Monday, a spokesman for the EU Parliament announced that Sassoli was being treated in a hospital in his home country, Italy. The stay had become “because of a serious complication due to a dysfunction of the immune system”.
Sassoli belonged to the social democratic party Partito Democratico (PD). According to the EU Parliament, the President of the Parliament had been in treatment since December 26th. All of his appointments have been canceled.
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. The Centro di Riferimento Oncologico hospital in Aviano did not provide any information when asked Tuesday morning. Spokesman Cuillo said on Twitter that the time and place of the funeral would be announced in the coming hours.
Source: Nachrichten