EU LEADERS have adopted a common target for the Copenhagen climate change summit, but their failure to reach agreement on how European states will foot their part of the bill opened up potential for discord at the UN meeting in six weeks.
The development came as Czech president Vaclav Klaus indicated he will finally ratify the Lisbon Treaty on foot of opt-outs secured from the Charter of Fundamental Rights in the treaty. While EU leaders declared that developing countries will need €100 billion per year by 2020 to tackle climate change, they stopped short of agreeing a concrete plan to carve up their own bill.
However, their agreement on the overall target they will set for Copenhagen was hailed by some EU leaders as a progressive step towards the bloc’s engagement with the US and China before the December summit.
EU leaders said €22 billion–€50 billion of the total will have to come from wealthy states. With estimates for the EU’s bill as high as €15 billion, the bloc’s leaders are divided over each state’s contribution.
“I would prefer this burden-sharing mechanism to be ready now, but this proved too difficult,” said Polish prime minister Donald Tusk.
Poland and a group of east European allies won a concession that will ensure the introduction of an “internal adjustment mechanism” to take account of the weak fiscal position of poorer states. Mr Klaus said the opt-outs strengthened his country’s position against the threat of property claims from ethnic Germans expelled from Czechoslovakia after the second World War.
Legal experts expect the Czech constitutional court to endorse the treaty next Tuesday, clearing the way for it to enter force in January.
The prospects of former British prime minister Tony Blair becoming president of the European Council, a post created by the treaty, suffered a setback when he failed to win support from Socialist prime ministers.
French president Nicolas Sarkozy also dealt him a blow, noting that “the names that first come out of the hat are not necessarily those that are finally chosen”. While the candidacy of former taoiseach John Bruton has not gained traction, a senior French diplomat joked about his prospects.
“It’s funny how from the long distance of Washington, he somehow sent through his application,” the diplomat said. He also noted the Irish economy had “somewhat faded” since Mr Bruton was taoiseach.
Sources close to Mr Bruton said he was “very satisfied” with the level of support he has received from Taoiseach Brian Cowen.
While there was considerable political debate yesterday when the Government learned of his nascent campaign, Mr Bruton is understood to regard that as irrelevant.