Italy's Sassoli likely to be next EU parliament speaker after socialists back him

BRUSSELS (Reuters) - The group of socialists in the European Parliament backed Italian lawmaker David Sassoli on Tuesday as their candidate for the presidency of the chamber, making him the most likely next speaker of the assembly.

Sassoli is supported by his socialist grouping and by the centre-right group, the largest in the parliament, under a deal negotiated by European Union leaders. The election of the parliament's speaker will take place on Wednesday and conclude the appointments for EU top jobs after EU-wide elections in May.

(Reporting by Francesco Guarascio @fraguarascio; Editing by Peter Cooney)