When the leaders discussed climate and competitiveness at their summit in Brussels, they settled for urging the EU Commission to "further develop conditions that make it possible to support the EU's industry and citizens to reach the intermediate goal by 2040".
Thus, as expected, it is up to the environment ministers to establish the goal - likely in accordance with the EU Commission's proposal for a 90 percent reduction in emissions, compared to 1990, in early November.
Several EU countries, mainly in Eastern Europe, have pushed to scale down climate ambitions, the EU Commission has countered by instead offering more flexibility.
