**EU leaders are holding a summit in Brussels, with climate change firmly at the top of the agenda.**On the table at the two-day meeting is how much aid the bloc will give to developing nations to tackle global warming.
Analysts say wealthier members of the 27-nation EU are having to press poorer states in Eastern Europe to contribute to a $10bn (£6bn) a year fund.
Finance will also be discussed at the twice-yearly summit.
Earlier on Thursday momentum was building for a tax on bankers’ bonuses.
The leaders of France and Germany swung behind the idea after the UK announced a one-off supertax on bonuses in a pre-Budget report.
Writing in Thursday’s Wall Street Journal, UK Prime Minister Gordon Brown and French President Nicolas Sarkozy said a one-off tax should be “considered a priority”.
The European Council meeting is the first since the Lisbon Treaty came into effect and Belgium’s Herman van Rompuy was elected as its first president.
The President of the European Parliament, Jerzy Buzek, told EU leaders that “swift, binding, global decisions” were needed on climate targets.
“I call upon you - put a figure on the table. We demanded this in the European Parliament resolution in November”
Jerzy Buzek, President of the European Parliament
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“We have called on the developed countries to reduce emissions by 25-40% by 2020, and expect developing countries to achieve cuts of between 15% and 30%,” he said.
“We know approximately how much this will cost the [European] Union - no less than 30bn euros (£27bn, $44bn) per year. It is important for this burden to be shared fairly among the member states. We should respect the principle of mutual solidarity.”
He added: "This meeting is decisive. This meeting will determine the funding for the immediate aid required by developing countries from next year to 2012 - before the new agreement comes into force.
“I call upon you - put a figure on the table. We demanded this in the European Parliament resolution in November.”
The figure of $10bn (£6bn) a year for three years is the current proposed funding to help poor countries adapt to climate change being discussed at the UN climate summit in Copenhagen.
Security scare
As EU leaders arrived for the twice-yearly Brussels summit there was a moment of drama when environmental protesters breached the security cordon disguised as an official delegation.
Several Greenpeace activists pulled up in a silver minivan similar to those used by summit attendees.
They burst out with banners reading “EU: Save Copenhagen” before they were moved aside by security guards.
They were urging EU nations to boost their commitments to achieve success at the conference in the Danish capital.
Other issues sure to concern EU leaders include Greece’s enormous level of debt.
Swedish Prime Minister Fredrik Reinfeldt, whose country currently holds the EU presidency, said Greece’s financial problems should be solved domestically.
Greek Deputy Finance Minister Philippos Sachinidis said earlier that his country’s debt stood at 300bn euros ($442bn; £272bn) - its highest level in modern history.