Brussels, 16/10/2001 (Agence Europe) - As tradition wonts, the main European political parties are organising their own summits before the next European Council, to be held in Ghent on Friday 19 October.
Thus, the European People's Party (EPP), led by Wilfried Martens, is meeting in summit during Friday morning to discuss not only the themes of the European Council of Ghent but also, and above all, the prospects of the European Council of Laeken and the statute of the European political parties. In addition to the leaders of the member parties and the president of the EPP-ED Group at the European Parliament, Hans-Gert Pöttering, participants at the summit will include Heads of Government José Maria Aznar (Spain), Jean-Claude Juncker (Luxembourg), Silvio Berlusconi (Italy) and Wolfgang Schüssel (Austria), as well as European Parliament President Nicole Fontaine and European Commissioner Michel Barnier. Guests also include the president of the European Democrats Union (EDU) Sauli Ninistö, RPR President Michèle Alliot-Marie and the leader of the British Conservative Party, Ian Duncan Smith.
The Party of European Socialists (PES) is also meeting during Friday morning, in Ghent (Kasteel van Zwijnaarde), under the chairmanship of Robin Cook, with the participation of the Social and Social Democrat Heads of Government of the EU - who are in power in most Member States -; leaders of the member parties and the president of the European Parliament's Socialist Group, Enrique Baron. The Socialist and Social Democrat leaders will also discuss the main lines of a declaration for the European Council of Laeken, in addition to the themes of the Ghent Summit.