Brussels, 17/03/2003 (Agence Europe) - The European Popular Party, chaired by Wilfried Martens, is holding its traditional pre-European Council summit on the afternoon of 20 March at the Château de Bouchot in Meise. Seven EU Heads of Government will attend- José Maria Aznar, Silvio Berlusconi, José Manuel Durao Barroso, Jean-Claude Juncker, Jan-Peter Balkenende, Jean-Pierre Raffarin, and Wolfgang Schüssel.
The meeting will centre on the Lisbon process and Iraq, as well as the work of the European Convention, with the participation of Valéry Giscard d'Estaing, Jean-Luc Dehaene, Michel Barnier, Inigo Mendez de Vigo and Elmar Brok. The President of the EPP-ED group at the European Parliament, Hans-Gert Pöttering, will also be present. Several officials from accession and candidate countries are also invited.