欧洲联盟各国领导人支持制止气候变化的雄心勃勃目标。但是他们强调，在当前经济逆转的情况下，实现这些目标的费用必须能承受得起。在布鲁塞尔举行的两天高峰会议之后发表的声明中，各国首脑承诺将在明年最终议定2020年减少20%温室效应气体排放的战略。但是他们强调，实现目标的费用不能给欧洲联盟国家带来过高的代价。
欧盟领导人星期四接受了法国总统萨尔科奇建议的修改方案，同意成立一个包括北美和中东国家在内的“地中海贸易集团”。这位法国总统接受了为缓解德国担忧而作出改变后，从而赢得了各国领导人的支持。德国曾担心关于这项建议可能不利于欧盟团结。欧盟各国领导人让欧盟官员7月前拟定出计划的进一步细节。
European Union leaders have backed ambitious goals to fight climate change but stressed that they must be affordable at a time of economic downturn. In a statement issued at the conclusion of a two-day summit in Brussels, the leaders pledged to finalize by next year their strategy for a 20 percent reduction in greenhouse gas emissions by the year 2020. But they stressed that the cost of the project should not impose excessive costs on EU member states.
Thursday, the leaders accepted a modified version of French President Nicolas Sarkozy’s proposal for a new Mediterranean trading bloc that would include North African and Middle Eastern countries. The French leader won the support of his EU colleagues after accepting changes that eased Germany’s concerns that the proposal would undermine EU unity. The leaders instructed EU officials to work out further details by July.