European Union leaders fought growing pressure on Thursday to roll back their climate change plans, standing by their targets and timetable for the package as the financial crisis bites.

Italy and Poland brandished the threat of a veto if their reservations were not taken into account, while Germany, Europe's largest economy, also voiced concerns over the ambitious environmental plans.

"I can confirm that the objectives remain the same, the calendar remains the same, now it's up to (us) to find solutions for those countries that expressed concerns," French President Nicolas Sarkozy said.

"The climate package is so important that we cannot simply drop it, under the pretext of a financial crisis," warned Sarkozy, whose country holds the EU's rotating presidency, at the close of an EU summit in Brussels.

European Commission chief Jose Manuel Barroso added, "We are not going to let up on the battle against climate change, no question of choosing against combating the financial crisis and climate change."

In 2007, EU leaders vowed to cut greenhouse gas emissions by 20 percent by 2020, compared to 1990 levels. They also pledged to have renewable energies make up 20 percent of all energy sources.

Costs and consequences

But many EU nations have begun to baulk at the costs involved and the consequences to industry of the climate change goals when they are cut up into individual national targets.

Even German Chancellor Angela Merkel, who triumphantly unveiled the targets in 2007, conceded that the EU has "lots of work" ahead if it is to reach agreement.

The plans to tackle the gases that cause global warming began to wilt at the summit as industry-heavy states and those dependent on coal power chipped away at the package to take account of their concerns about its economic impact.

Although the likes of British Prime Minister Gordon Brown have urged leaders to stick to their objectives, a declaration delivered at the end of the two-day summit indicated they would be trimmed.

According to the text, the 27 heads of state and government agreed the package should be introduced in a "cost-effective manner...having regard to each member state's specific situation."

Sarkozy had called for "some flexibility" to be shown to satisfy dissenters.

Poland, heavily dependent on coal-fired power, vowed to resist any attempt to railroad the targets through and was finally satisfied with the outcome.

"We want build an energy-climate package which poorer EU states can survive," Prime Minister Donald Tusk said.

Too big a burden

Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi was most outspoken, threatening to torpedo the plans, branding them too big a burden for business amid the global financial crisis.

He only finally accepted a compromise here in exchange for the package being adopted unanimously by all 27 countries at their next summit in mid-December.

"If Europe decides unanimously, then its 530 million citizens will bear the costs in the same way, which satisfies our demands," he said on Thursday.

The detailed discussions on national targets will begin next Monday at a meeting of EU environment ministers in Luxembourg.

The EU hopes a deal would put Europe at the forefront of international talks on climate change in Copenhagen in December 2009.

Ahead of the summit, Tusk led relatively-poor eastern European nations in calling on EU partners to "respect the differences in member states' economic potential," in fixing national goals to cut carbon dioxide emissions.

The calls for concessions confirmed fears in Brussels that the package could unravel.

"This is not the time to abandon a climate change agenda which is important for the future," Brown warned, noting that high oil prices and less energy security "makes it more important that we deal with a long-term policy."