Chancellor Angela Merkel and Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi are in Warsaw to take part, with PM Tusk, in the European People’s Party European election manifesto launch.

The congress, which will be held at the Sala Kongresowa in the Palace of Culture and Science will also see participation from presidents of the European Commission and European Parliament, José Manuel Barroso and Hans-Gert Poeterrin plus prime ministers Mirek Topolanek of the Czech Republic, Jan Peter Balkenende of the Netherlands, Jean-Claude Juncker of Luxembourg, and Francois Fillon of France.

The congress also provides an opportunity for many of the above to hold unofficial talks on EU matters.

Former president Lech Walesa will also attend the congress on Thursday.

Over two days the European People’s Party (EPP), the centre-right, christian-democrat political grouping within the European Parliament, - including Poland’s governing Civic Platform and junior coalition partner, the Polish Peasants Party - will launch their manifesto for the Euro elections on June 4 to 7.

According to the political group’s leader, Wilfried Martens, the manifesto will emphasise, “creating new jobs and greening the economy”. The party’s programme will also include a call for a European Security and Defence Pact and a strategic agreement with the US and other allies on security issues.

The EPP is currently the largest political group in the European Parliament with 288 members.

On June 7, Poland will elect 50 MEP’s out of a total of 736 members of the European Parliament.

Poland’s largest opposition party, Law and Justice, is a member of the national-conservative Union for Europe of the Nations (UEN); and the nation’s third largest opposition party, the Democratic Left Alliance is part of the Party of European Socialists (PES). (pg)