Kaczynski vowed to attend the summit despite the government's refusal to provide him with an airplane.

"I'll go, most likely aboard an airplane, as I don't know how to fly," Kaczynski said in an interview Tuesday evening on Poland's public TVP broadcaster.

A high-pitched row between Kaczynski and Tusk over who should represent Poland at the EU summit has dominated headlines over the past week.

The two-day EU summit beginning Wednesday is focused on the 27-member bloc's response to the global financial crisis and global warming.

"We have informed the president that in line with the constitution and due to the issues the European Council will be dealing with this week, for obvious reasons the delegation will be composed of the foreign minister, the finance minister and the prime minister," Tusk said.

The prime minister arrived in Brussels on Tuesday evening.

Earlier a spokesman for the president said he wanted to inform EU leaders about the current situation in the Caucasus.

Kaczynski has been engaged in the region since he spearheaded a delegation of presidents to travel to Georgia in the wake of Russia's August military action in the ex-Soviet republic.

One constitutional law expert said there was no ambiguity about who should represent Poland at the summit.

"The Polish constitution is clear," Piotr Winczorek told AFP. "The problem is that politicians interpret it (the constitution) as they wish, creating an embarrassing situation for Poland."

"Under the constitution, foreign policy lies within the competence of the government," Winczorek added.

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