EU Agrees to Enact Climate Package Within a Year

European Union leaders agreed on Thursday to enact tougher curbs on greenhouse gas emissions and binding targets for green energy to fight climate change within a year, Slovenian Prime Minister Janez Jansa said.

Jansa told a news conference after chairing the first day of a 27-nation EU summit: “The proposal submitted by the European Commission is highly ambitious, it’s a very good proposal and I believe that tomorrow, we will be able to support it by way of council conclusions. We must reach agreement in the first months of 2009 at the latest.”

The leaders agreed to conclude a liberalization of their energy market in June and adopt a package of energy and climate change measures in December, reaching agreement with the European Parliament by March 2009.

Reporting by Huw Jones and Darren Ennis, writing by Paul Taylor