At an environmental minister meeting in Brussels next week, it was intended that the EU countries would agree on the commission's proposal for a 90 percent emission reduction by 2040, compared to the 1990 level.
But the disagreement is so great that no decisions can be made yet. The presiding country, Denmark, sighs heavily after an ambassador meeting on Friday.
It's a difficult issue that is politically complicated. There are enough member states that want the heads of state and government to discuss the issue before they can conclude the negotiations, says Climate Minister Lars Aagaard to the news agency Ritzau.
An agreement on climate targets is seen as an important signal ahead of the next major climate meeting, COP30, which will be held in Brazil in November.
In parallel, heavy parts of the European car industry are pushing to persuade the EU Commission to ease the already established ban on new petrol and diesel cars from 2035.
Signals of a significantly less ambitious climate policy are causing concern among members of the EU Parliament.
Now we've pressed some damn pause button, says Pär Holmgren (Green party) at a Swedish press conference.
