30/06/2017 (Agence Europe) – European Parliament President Antonio Tajani has paid tribute to Simone Veil (France), the first president of an elected European Parliament in 1979, who died on Friday 30 June, aged 89. “Mrs Veil, a Holocaust survivor, made fighting anti-Semitism one of the causes to which she devoted her life. Firmly committed to the Europe’s democratic and ethical values, she was also an ardent champion of women’s rights”, he said in a press release. Parliament was not in a position to say on Friday whether the former minister and MEP (1979-1993) would be honoured in any way at the next plenary session (see other article). (MB)