13/01/2009 (Agence Europe) - On Monday 12 January, the Bureau of the European Parliament decided to pay tribute to three former MEPs who made a significant contribution to the process of European integration. It was thus decided that the reading room of the EP library should take on the name of Francisco Lucas Pires. Of Portuguese nationality, Mr Lucas Pires was vice-president of the EP at the time of his death in 1988 after serving as MEP for 12 years. The Conciliation Committee meeting room will be named after Italian Renzo Imbeni. A member of the Socialist Group from 1989 to 2004 and vice-president of the EP during the last ten years of his career, Mr Imbeni was a fervent supporter of strengthened EP powers in the European decision-making process. The main courtyard of the Tower building in Strasbourg (Louise Weiss building) will be named after Bronislaw Geremek, former Polish MEP. An anti-communist dissident, Mr Geremek then became Poland's foreign minister and was elected to the European Parliament in 2004. He was closely involved in the discussion over the EU institutional reforms until his death in 2008. (O.J./transl.jl)