The president of the European Parliament, David Sassoli, died early Tuesday in hospital in Italy, his spokesman said on Twitter, ANSA reports.
"David Sassoli passed away at 1.15 am on 11 January at the CRO in Aviano, Italy, where he was hospitalised," his spokesman Roberto Cuillo tweeted.
"The date and place of the funeral will be communicated in the next few hours." He said that the cause of Sassoli's death was complications after violation of the immune system.
The former television newsreader had been in hospital since December 26 due to "a serious complication due to a dysfunction of the immune system," Cuillo had said on Monday, announcing the cancellation of Sassoli's official activities.
Sassoli was previously admitted with pneumonia for several weeks last September.
Sassoli was elected to the European Parliament in 2009 as a representative of the Democratic Party. In July 2019, he was elected President of the European Parliament. The European Parliament sits for a five-year term between elections, but the president of the body serves for half that time. Sassoli had already indicated that he would not seek re-election.
As Apostrophe reported earlier, President of the European Parliament David Sassoli advocated that the European Union tighten sanctions against the Russian Federation.