MEPs met to discuss the energy and climate package this week ahead of Council meetings, in preparation of the deal which is scheduled to be finalised on 17 December when the Parliament meets to vote on EU summit conclusions. Given the constraints of climate change, MEPs called for a deal to be reached at the earliest possible opportunity, whilst many also spoke of the need for the agreement to be sufficiently tough and ambitious.

Environment Commissioner Stavros Dimas noted that transition to a low carbon economy would boost Europe's competitiveness and encourage innovation, and insisted he was ‘optimistic of a first-reading agreement’, saying that significant progress was being made.

MEPs are however concerned that Parliament efforts to come up with a comprehensive and ambitious deal could be undone by excessive demands for concessions from Member States. Leader of the ALDE group, MEP Graham Watson, has therefore urged Council ‘to reaffirm its commitment to the 20/20/20 targets’, and refers to the fact that certain governments have been reluctant to commit to some of the terms of the package, because of lobbying from the most influential interest groups in their economy.

As a result German Socialist MEP Martin Schulz has warned that Parliament will insist any proposed deal is acceptable in its own eyes, given ‘the tough detailed work has been done here in this House’, and would not be forced into agreeing to the Summit’s conclusions. An ambitious package is made all the more important in the view of Green MEP Claude Turmes, since ‘we will lose all diplomatic credibility if we do not have a climate change package that looks to the future’.

French Minister of Ecology and Sustainable Development and Planning, Jean-Louis Borloo, speaking on behalf of the French EU Presidency, meanwhile insisted that progress was being made in trialogue negotiations. In his mind the remaining sticking points surrounded the questions of solidarity and progressivity in reaching the 20/20/20 targets, as well as ensuring that increased energy efficiency does not result in the greatest share of the burden being shouldered by consumers.

All in all, the message seemed to be pretty clear: although there was still some disagreement as to the exact make-up of the package, everyone seemed to recognise the urgency of the issue and consequently the need for a rapid and comprehensive deal to be implemented. Each side claims progress has been made, but whether this progress leads to effective climate policy being implemented will be seen when Parliament votes on EU summit conclusions on 17 December.