On July 3 2019, Italian Member of the European Parliament (MEP) David Maria Sassoli was elected the new president of the European Parliament. He has expressed his support for the autism community at a political and personal level, including the signature of the Written Declaration on Autism, calling on the European Union and its Member States to adopt a European strategy for autism.
Former journalist and member of the European Parliament Intergroup on Extreme Poverty and Human Rights in the previous term, Sassoli has also reacted on social media on topics like autism and vaccines, or has combated discrimination and stigma and raised awareness in the European Parliament in 2018.
Sassoli is due to serve for two and a half years — half the parliamentary term — before passing the torch to a member of the center-right European People’s Party for the rest of the mandate.
© Picture by the European Parliament.