Tough tests ahead for Czech leaders

no climate change funding decision

In their discussions of a new global deal on climate change, European leaders will not decide on funding.
The debate continues within the EU over how much money should be spent on fighting climate change, and how much should go to developing countries to help them adapt.
Most countries think it would be premature to show the EU's negotiating hand and no figure is likely to emerge until after the UN publishes a draft text of the Copenhagen agreement in May or June. Environmentalists will pay attention to other figures that could be included or left out of the summit communiqué. Last week (2 March) environment ministers stated that by 2020, €175 billion of public and private money would be needed each year to fight climate change. But finance ministers did not include this figure in their summit preparatory work.
Summit watchers will also scrutinise the expected reprise of calls for more solidarity on energy security, looking for tangible commitment to six priority projects identified by the European Commission in its second strategic energy review last November, which includes projects in the Mediterranean, the North Sea and the Baltic states.

Irish progress update

Brian Cowen, the Irish prime minister, will brief other EU leaders at the summit on the work that has taken place to date on the Lisbon treaty and the legal guarantees being sought by Ireland ahead of a second referendum on the treaty.
Irish officials do not expect the briefing to last long or many interventions from other member states.
The European Council conclusions will refer to this briefing but will contain little detail about the legal guarantees. This suggests that an early referendum in June is no longer possible, since the guarantees would have to be discussed by EU leaders some months in advance of a vote.
A referendum is now likely to take place in the autumn.