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Eastern EU members seek new climate proposal ahead of summit
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  • WARSAW, Nov 24 (AFP) Nov 24, 2008
    Eastern EU member states want to see a fresh proposal from France regarding the European Union's planned climate and energy package, Polish Foreign Minister Radoslaw Sikorski said Monday.

    Speaking after a meeting of the nine nations' foreign ministers, Sikorski recalled that French President Nicolas Sarkozy -- whose nation holds the EU presidency -- will be in Gdansk 2on December 6, Saint Nicolas Day.

    "I hope he will bring us a present in the form of good proposals, proposals that will take into consideration our specific situation," he said.

    Participating in Monday's meeting were the Visegrad Group of EU member states -- Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland and Slovakia -- plus Sweden, Baltic states Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania, and Bulgaria and Romania.

    The planned EU climate package would give renewable energy a 20-percent stake in the electricity market, reduce CO2 emissions by 20 percent and increase energy efficiency by 20 percent by 2020 compared with 1990 levels.

    But Poland -- which depends on coal-fired plants for 94 percent of its electricity -- has threatened to veto the entire package if a compromise on the cost of CO2 emission quotas is not found.

    It and other coal-dependent eastern EU members opposed an original proposal to begin full auctioning CO2 emission quotas for industry in 2013, arguing that that would send energy prices up and economic growth down.

    Last week Poland rejected an EU proposal that at least half of CO2 emission quotas be handed out free until 2016 for countries relying on coal for 60 percent of their electricity.

    "The package must be adopted unanimously," Sikorski said Monday. "We confirm that we will not hesitate to veto bad proposals which means we want to negotiate good proposals."

    Monday's meeting in Warsaw focused on hammering out a joint position ahead of a regular December 11=12 summit of EU leaders in Brussels that will aim to clinch a deal on climate.

    It also adopted a joint declaration in support of the bloc's partnership with the east -- a Polish-Swedish initiative aimed at reinforcing ties with non-EU states in eastern Europe.

    It called as well for easing European and national visa restrictions for citizens from those state wishing to travel to the European Union.

    The foreign ministers welcomed "continuing dialogue between the EU and Russia" but stressed: "The EU must remain firm on its position regarding Russia having to fulfill all the conditions with respect to Georgia's territorial integrity."




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