Blair whispers overshadow climate change agenda

David Charter: Analysis

Tony Blair is the elephant in the room at this summit. But frankly he is not the real reason that European leaders are gathering in Brussels today.
Inevitably, the chatter in the corridors and the questions at press conferences will be about the EU presidency, but 95 per cent of the formal agenda is focused on other things. The EU’s credibility is on the line over climate change; Gordon Brown is pushing for a new declaration on the economy and jobs; a solution has to be found to persuade the Czech President to sign the Lisbon treaty; and the the EU’s proposed new diplomatic service will be discussed.
This is the last chance for the 27 leaders to agree how much money they are prepared to give to help to reach agreement at the global climate change conference in Copenhagen next month. Despite the insistence of Britain, Denmark and the Netherlands, many EU countries are against plans to fund developing nations to cut their emissions.
As with the appointment of Mr Blair, all eyes are on Angela Merkel, of Germany, who has resisted the call for Europe to spell out its part of an international package of up to €100 billion a year.

Gordon Brown has suggested that the EU should pay €10 billion a year from 2020 to help poorer countries to go green and has said that Britain would pay €1 billion. But the Germans view any commitment of figures as bad tactics before the tough negotiations expected in Copenhagen.
A group of nine former Iron Curtain countries led by Poland are also blocking the move, demanding to know exactly how much it will cost each nation before they sign up. Green campaigners believe that failure to agree a funding plan for Copenhagen backed by hard cash could be a mortal blow to the talks, which are aimed at setting emissions cuts across the world.
The leaders must also agree on a concession for President Klaus of the Czech Republic to persuade him to sign the Lisbon treaty, which has been ratified in all the other countries. They are likely to meet his demand for an opt-out from the Charter of Fundamental Rights, similar to those granted to Britain and Poland.
Besides the possible choice of Mr Blair for president, the EU leaders also have to consider the appointment of a new EU foreign minister. The two posts will be assessed as a pair because they must be able to work together and should also come from different political backgrounds so that one party does not monopolise the top jobs in the EU.
Candidates for the foreign minister include Carl Bildt, the Foreign Minister of Sweden, Olli Rehn, the Finnish EU Enlargement Commissioner, and two former foreign ministers: Ursula Plassnik of Austria and Dora Bakoyannis of Greece. The list of contenders seems lightweight and has led to speculation that David Miliband could be asked to take the job if Mr Blair is rejected for president. Mr Miliband has denied that he is interested in it.
EU leaders will hear a progress report on the creation of a diplomatic corps to work under their new foreign minister — the European External Action Service, which is already being referred to as a foreign office for the EU.
While all eyes have been on Tony Blair, the EU’s ambitions for a diplomatic service to boost its presence in countries around the world could be the most far-reaching result of this summit.