On 2 July the European Council elected the liberal Belgian PM Charles Michel as its president and proposed the candidates for the EU top positions. On 3 July, the European Parliament elected the Italian socialist David Sassoli as its president with a majority of 345 out of 667 votes, thanks to an agreement between socialists and the European People’s Party. During his inaugural speech, Mr Sassoli stressed the importance of improving the unity and solidarity within the EU and, addressing to the Council, he said that it is “time to discuss the reform of the Dublin Regulation which this House, by an overwhelming majority, has put forward in the previous term”. The day before, the European Council had elected Charles Michel as its president, who is meant to stay in office until May 2022. The European Council also agreed on the candidates for the EU top positions: it proposed the German Defence Minister Ursula von der Leyen as president of the European Commission; the Spanish Foreign Minister Josep Borrell as High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy; and Christine Lagarde as the head of the ECB.