On Thursday, the EPP Group Presidency and Heads of National Delegations will gather at its two-day meeting in Vilnius, Lithuania, to debate Europe and Baltic security as well as jobs and growth in the EU. The EPP Group Chairman Manfred Weber will lead the debate. Participants will include parliamentarians from the Homeland Union-Lithuanian Christian Democrats Group in the Lithuanian Parliament (Seimas).

The German Defence Minister (CDU), Ursula von der Leyen, will be a guest speaker in the ‘European Security’ debate.

The ‘Growth and Opportunities for All’ panel will feature the former Ukrainian Minister for Economy and Trade, Aivaras Abromavičius, and the opposition leader of the Homeland Union-Lithuanian Christian Democrats Group in the Seimas, Andrius Kubilius.

The meeting will also feature an exchange of views with representatives of the Belarusian opposition, during which MEPs will hear first-hand information about the situation in neighbouring Belarus, in preparation for parliamentary elections which will take place on 11 September.

The EPP Group Presidency and Heads of National Delegations meet regularly to discuss key guidelines and to prepare decisions of major strategic importance for the Group.