(AGENPARL) – BRUXELLES mer 22 giugno 2022 A commemorative bust of John Hume (1937-2020) – awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1998 for his tireless efforts to bring peace to his native Northern Ireland – was unveiled in the European Parliament in Strasbourg on Tuesday 7 June 2022. Having served as an MEP from 1979 to 2004, John Hume understood the European Parliament as a forum in which to raise attention to the problems of Northern Ireland and build European support for resolving the conflict. And it was also – with a measure of seclusion not available to them in Belfast – a place where he and the unionist MEPs from Northern Ireland could work together to improve Northern Ireland’s situation. The bust of John Hume, representing him at the age he was first elected to the European Parliament, is by Northern Ireland-born sculptor Elizabeth O’Kane, and has been donated to the Parliament by the Irish government. The bust was unveiled by the Irish Taoiseach, Micheál Martin, and the President of the European Parliament, Roberta Metsola. Before the ceremony, Chris Patten, former European Commissioner, delivered a lecture, in which he paid tribute to John Hume’s work as peace-maker and his commitment to democratic values. This Briefing brings together the texts of all three speeches.

Fonte : © Unione europea, 2022 – PE

Fonte/Source: https://www.europarl.europa.eu/thinktank/it/document/EPRS_BRI(2022)733553