The European Economic Congress has opened in Katowice, the capital of industrial southern Silesia.

The event has gathered 3 thousand government, business and academic representatives. PM Donald Tusk as well as EU commissioner for regional policy Danuta Huebner, energy commissioner Andris Piebalgs and commissioner for science and research Janez Potochnik have confirmed their attendance at the Katowice meeting.

The aim of the European Economic Congress is to discuss various aspects of activity in fields such as  mining, metallurgy, power generation, transport or the automotive industry, right up to ecology related problems and the national health service.

The three day debates will see lectures and panel discussions with over 300 invited guest speakers, among  them the architect of Poland’s free market reforms and former Central Bank president professor Leszek Balcerowicz, or former Slovak PM Mikulas Dzurinda.