Greek MEP taken seriously ill in EU Parliament

(STRASBOURG) - Conservative Greek lawmaker Georgios Papastamkos has been taken to hospital seriously ill after collapsing in the chamber of the European Parliament during a long voting session Wednesday.

"I cannot give you precise details but he is in a serious condition," Parliament president Martin Schulz told MEPs in the chamber later.

Papastamkos, 58, a member of Greek Prime Minister Antonis Samaras's New Democracy party, had been overseeing a lengthy voting session when he announced that he "needed to take a short break, for personal reasons."

He stepped down from the dias, walked a few metres (yards) and then collapsed, sparking cries of concern from his colleagues.

Three MEPs who are doctors rushed to his aid and he was then taken to hospital.