Following the reported beating of the former Prime Minister of the Ukraine, Yulia Tymoshenko, and her hunger strike, Joseph Daul, Chairman of the EPP Group, said: "In the name of the EPP Group in the European Parliament, I condemn the escalation of political repression in the Ukraine. This is simply unacceptable." At the same time, Joseph Daul called upon Tymoshenko to end her hunger strike: "Yulia, we will find another way to help you!"

"The EPP Group expresses full solidarity with Yulia Tymoshenko as this most recent example shows the cruelty in the treatment of Tymoshenko and other political prisoners by the Ukrainian authorities to be utterly inhumane. We want an immediate reaction to this second wave of political repression."

Joseph Daul also proposed some concrete steps to be taken: "I urge the Ukrainian authorities to grant immediate access by the EU Ambassador in the Ukraine to the former Prime Minister. I also appeal to the President of the European Parliament, Martin Schulz, to dispatch a delegation of MEPs to the Ukraine and meet Tymoshenko as soon as possible", concluded the Chairman of the largest Group in the European Parliament.

For further information:

Joseph DAUL MEP, Chairman of the EPP Group, Tel: +32-2-2847525

Antoine Ripoll, Chairman's Spokesman, Tel: +32-475-856290

Delia Vlase, Chairman's Deputy Spokeswoman, Tel: +32-476-331038

Klemen Žumer, EPP Group Press and Communications Service, Tel: +32-498-514589

Notes to Editors:

The EPP Group is by far the largest political group in the European Parliament with 271 Members and 3 Croatian Observer Members.