site.bta GERB Leader Borissov, Deputy PM Gabriel to Participate in EPP Congress in Bucharest

GERB leader Boyko Borissov is leading a delegation to Bucharest for the European People's Party (EPP) Congress on March 6 and 7. Bulgarian Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Mariya Gabriel, representatives of GERB and the Union of Democratic Forces (UDF) and the MEPs of the EPP/GERB-UDF in the European Parliament are on the delegation.

The Congress will launch the EPP's campaign for the European Parliament elections, scheduled for June 6-9, 2024. The event is co-hosted by Romania's National Liberal Party (PNL).

Some 2,000 participants from 44 countries have been invited to take part, including European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, European Parliament President Roberta Metsola, state and government leaders of 11 countries (Romania, Finland, Luxembourg, Sweden, Cyprus, Austria, Ireland, Greece, Croatia, Poland and Lithuania), 178 MEPs and 10 European Commission members who are part of the EPP family.

The event will also be attended by European leaders outside the EU, including Moldova's President Maia Sandu and Swiss President Viola Amherd. Also attending are Ukraine's former President Petro Poroshenko and Belarusian opposition leader Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya, who visited Sofia on Tuesday and met with Parliament Chair Rosen Zhelyazkov.

The Congress will center on the re-election of Ursula von der Leyen as Commission President and the unveiling of the manifesto for the European Parliament elections, EPP President Manfred Weber said on Facebook.

"In the coming days, Bucharest will become the political capital of Europe," Weber said arriving in Bucharest on Tuesday. "Romania will decide on June 9 whether it will have a strong team in Brussels or waste its votes on extremists," added Weber as quoted by digi24.ro.

EPP Vice President and EPP Group Vice Chair Siegfried Muresan (PNL) said on Facebook the electoral manifesto, which will form the basis of the EPP's political programme for the next five years, has a paragraph demanding full Schengen admission for Bulgaria and Romania, lifting not just air and sea controls but also land border controls as soon as possible.

Bucharest co-hosted an EPP Congress in 2012, local media recall.