Italy is to honour the late European Parliament President David Sassoli with a state funeral in Rome on Friday.
The funeral service is due to begin at midday in the Basilica of Santa Maria degli Angeli e dei Martiri.
European Union (EU) Council President Charles Michel and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen are among those expected to attend.
Politicians throughout Europe have paid their respects to the Italian Social Democrat, particularly praising his commitment to the European Union.
Sassoli died early on Tuesday morning at the age of 65 in the north-eastern Italian town of Aviano.
He had been hospitalised on Dec. 26 due to a complication with his immune system.
On Thursday, Italian leaders, including Prime Minister Mario Draghi, paid their last respects to Sassoli as he lay in state in a mortuary on Rome’s Capitoline Hill. (dpa/NAN)
