Italian MEP elected head of European Parliament’s research committee

Amalia Sartori, a conservative MEP from Italy, has been elected the next head of the European Parliament’s Committee on Industry, Research and Energy, which develops the European Parliament’s research policy.

Sartori, whose appointment was confirmed on 23 January, is among many new holders of influential parliamentary positions including president Martin Schulz. She takes over from Germany’s Herbert Reul, also a conservative, who has headed the committee since 2009. Sartori, a University of Padua literature graduate, was elected to the European Parliament in 1999, and has sat on other committees, such as the temporary climate-change committee.