France signals tough negotiations on climate
(02 Jul 08) Brokering a deal among EU governments on draft new climate and energy legislation will be France's biggest challenge during its six-month spell at the helm of European policy, according to French president Nicolas Sarkozy.
France took over the rotating presidency of bloc from Slovenia on Tuesday. In a television interview on Monday Mr Sarkozy said EU proposals to cut greenhouse emissions were "probably the most difficult dossier of my presidency, but essential". French diplomats will have to excel themselves to reach a compromise, he said.
Areas of potential difficulty are the role of nuclear power in efforts to meet climate targets, and the fears of the EU's eastern and Baltic states and that the proposals would hurt their economies.
Government discussions on the proposals will continue on Thursday and Friday at an informal meeting of EU energy and environment ministers in Paris. The meeting will focus exclusively on the climate and energy package.
European commission president José Manuel Barroso met Mr Sarkozy and French prime minister François Fillon in Paris on Tuesday to discuss France's work programme for the second half of the year. France's environment policy priorities were presented to MEPs earlier this year.
Mr Sarkozy reiterated his proposals for a carbon tax on EU imports of energy-intensive goods from countries that do not take on climate commitments, and for reduced sales taxes on greener products. "We have no reason to import in Europe products from countries that do not respect any environmental rules", he said.
Provisional agendas released on Tuesday for formal council meetings later in the French presidency reveal that the French presidency hopes to seal a ministerial agreement on plans to reduce carbon dioxide emissions from new cars in December. France and Germany bridged their differences on the plans in June. "With the Germans we reached an agreement that works", Mr Sarkozy said.
France also wants to broker a deal on new EU limits on pollutant emissions from heavy duty vehicles, and on a proposed soil protection directive. Environment ministers will discuss a revision of the 2001 national emission ceilings (NEC) directive and there could be agreement on a revision of the EU's Eurovignette road infrastructure charging rules. On both issues the commission is expected to publish legislative proposals soon.
Follow-up: French EU presidency and provisional council agendas (in French), plus Sarkozy interview. See also green group EEB's review of Slovenian presidency and ten green tests for France .
Published with permission of ENDS Europe Daily
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