The archives of Leo Tindemans, former Prime Minister of Belgium, former Chairman of the EPP Group in the European Parliament and current Honorary President of the EPP Party, will be available online from 8 November. The expanded archives are the result of a long inventory process covering his political career of almost 50 years.

"For European Christian democracy, these archives are priceless", said Joseph Daul, Chairman of the EPP Group.

"Leo Tindemans' archives include a lot of unpublished documents which are witness accounts of the development of the Christian-Democratic identity, of the foundation of the European People's Party in 1976, and of the actions of the EPP Group in the European Parliament. The archives illustrate the important political role played by Leo Tindemans as a strong supporter of European integration."

"I have no doubt that these archives, once widely accessible, will prove to be one of the most important sources of information for research on European integration", concluded Joseph Daul.

The Tindemans Archives will be presented on Tuesday 8 November 2011 at 16.00 hrs in the European Parliament (Altiero Spinelli Building ASP 3E2) in the presence of Joseph Daul.

(Translation from the original French)

For further information:

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

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

Greet Gysen, EPP Group Press and Communications Service, Tel: +32-497-028054

Notes to Editors:

- The Tindemans Archives cover the period from 1950-1999

- The inventory of the archives was done by KADOC, the Documentation and Research Centre for Religion, Culture and Society at the Catholic University of Leuven. The archives will be accessible from 8 November 2011 through automated working tools available on the internet

- Leo Tindemans was President of the EPP Party from 1976 to 1985, and Chairman of the EPP Group in the European Parliament from 1992 to 1994

The EPP Group is by far the largest political group in the European Parliament with 264 Members