Brussels, 16 June 2011

The President of the European People’s Party (EPP), Wilfried Martens, has expressed his deep sorrow for the passing away of Paolo Barbi, former Italian MEP and Chairman of the EPP Group in the European Parliament (1982-1984):

“I am very saddened by the passing away of my good friend and colleague Paulo Barbi. Barbi played a central role in building our political movement in Europe. As leader of our EPP Group in the European Parliament and as an ever-present figure in the work and activities of the European People's Party, Barbi had a catalytic role in making our political movement the largest in Europe,” Martens stated.

“Paulo Barbi's strong leadership and ground-breaking Christian democratic ideas, will always remain an important source of inspiration for the EPP," Martens concluded.

Note to editors:
The EPP is the largest and most influential European-level political party of the centre right, which currently includes 75 member-parties from 39 countries, the Presidents of the Commission, Council, and Parliament, 15 EU and 6 non-EU heads of state and government, 13 members of the European Commission and the largest Group in the European Parliament.

For more information:
Kostas Sasmatzoglou, Spokesman, Tel: +32-2-2854147
Javier Jiménez, Senior Press and Communication Officer, Tel: +32-475480446