PARIS, June 13 (Reuters) - European planemaker Airbus

is nearing a deal to sell A220 passenger jets to Polish

carrier LOT after a hard-fought contest with Brazilian

planemaker Embraer ( ERJ ), industry sources said on Friday.

Barring a last-minute shift in the negotiations, a deal for

a few dozen of the Airbus regional jets could be finalised as

early as Monday's opening of the Paris Airshow they added,

speaking on condition of anonymity.

"We do not comment on rumours," an Airbus spokesperson said.

LOT and Embraer ( ERJ ) also declined to comment.

Poland has been looking for up to 80 or more regional jets,

about half of which would be purchase options, to expand and

build its Central Communication Port by the early 2030s while

also growing its central Warsaw Chopin airport hub.

The purchase of the planes would help fuel that expansion,

LOT Chief Executive Michal Fijol has told Polish media.

The competition has attracted strong political attention as

Warsaw weighs its economic and political alliances amid concerns

about support from the U.S., a major defence supplier, according

to European aviation and defence sources.

Poland's pro-European coalition government won a vote of

confidence on Wednesday, an outcome that Prime Minister Donald

Tusk hopes will give his cabinet new momentum after it was

shaken by a setback in the presidential election.

In May, France and Poland signed a treaty to increase

cooperation on defence, nuclear energy and other measures, in a

sign of growing alliances between European nations.

In a series of overlapping civil and defence discussions,

Airbus is also aiming to supply A400M transporters and A330 MRTT

tankers.

Embraer ( ERJ ) has expressed interest in supplying its KC-390

airlifter to Poland, offering to open an assembly line there.

The head of Embraer's ( ERJ ) commercial division, Arjan Meijer,

said in a recent Polish newspaper interview that the company's

E2 jet was the best choice for LOT from an airline perspective.

Poland is one of the few hubs in Europe with space to build

out its airport infrastructure, but government-sponsored plans

for such an expansion have dragged for years.

National carrier LOT has struggled to compete with budget

carriers Ryanair and Wizz Air for market share.