Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi will meet FA Chairman Franco Carraro on Wednesday to outline Italy's proposals to host the tournament, the Italian FA said on its website.

Italy, host of the 2006 Winter Olympics [Images], won the European Championship for the only time in 1968, beating Yugoslavia in Rome, with the finals then featuring only the last four teams.

It has since grown into a 16-team event, second only in size to the World Cup and worth millions of euros to the host country in sponsorship, ticket sales and the boost to tourism.

Italy also hosted the European Championship in 1980 when West Germany [Images] won the title and the Italians finished fourth.

Bidding against Italy is Greece, surprise winners of the Euro 2004 in Portugal. Poland and Ukraine are also considering a joint bid for the 2012 tournament.

UEFA [Images], European soccer's governing body, will decide on the venue in December 2006.

A successful bid would allow Italy, host of the 1934 and 1990 World Cup, to take full advantage of the diversity of the boot-shaped country.

Its world class venues stretch from Udine in the far north by the Austrian border to the Sicilian capital Palermo, which is closer to north Africa than to the financial capital Milan.

Hosting Euro 2012 would also be a boon for Berlusconi, who has built his political career aided by the success of his Serie A soccer club AC Milan. Berlusconi's political party "Forza Italia" (Go, Italy) is named after the national soccer chant.

The business tycoon is due to stand for re-election in 2006, the same year as the European Championship decision and the Turin Olympics.

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