European Union Summit is to begin in Brussels, Belgium later on Thursday. Issues like Climate Change and the Lisbon Reform Treaty are set to dominate in the two-day Summit. The 27 bloc's leaders will try to iron out their differences over how much each EU member should pay to help developing nation’s fight against global warming. But Denmark expressed doubts that a binding deal could be reached at December's Copenhagen Climate Summit. During the two-day talks, EU leaders are also expected to discuss who should become the first full-time president of the 27-member bloc of about 500 million people. Former British Prime Minister Tony Blair and Luxembourg Premier Jean-Claude Juncker have been touted as the leading candidates for the job. <br/>On the eve of the Summit, Swedish Prime Minister Fredrik Reinfeldt, whose country currently holds the rotating EU presidency, urged his counterparts to compromise on agreeing climate aid figures to developing nations. Developing nations have been arguing that industrialised countries should carry most of the burden, because they are responsible for much CO2 emissions. "The emerging economies are looking for financing and without it they will not make the required reduction targets."<br/>The Brussels meeting will also decide what to offer to the Czech Republic, to complete the Lisbon ratification. Czech President Vaclav Klaus is the only EU leader who refuses to sign the treaty, demanding an opt-out from the treaty's Charter of Fundamental Rights. Mr. Klaus fears that charter could be used by ethnic Germans to reclaim land they lost in the Czech Republic after World War II.<br/><br/>
News On AIR | October 29, 2009 2:17 PM
EU Summit to begin in Belgium