* EU leaders seek deal on climate change funding
* Finance issue important for global deal in Copenhagen
* Blair's chances of becoming EU president have receded
(Updates with Brown, Tutu and EU officials)
By Pete Harrison and David Brunnstrom
BRUSSELS, Oct 30 (Reuters) - European Union leaders made
progress on Friday towards an agreement on funding that could
boost efforts to reach a global deal to fight climate change in
Copenhagen in December.
Britain said agreement had already been reached on financing
to help developing countries combat the effects of global
warming. But diplomats said EU leaders were still trying to
bridge a rift between countries in east and west Europe.
Agreement on the last day of an EU summit in Brussels would
boost efforts to reach a deal at the international talks in
Copenhagen on a successor to the Kyoto Protocol, the United
Nations' anti-climate change scheme, which expires in 2012.
"Europe is making three conditional offers, money on the
table, saying we will do everything we can to make a climate
change deal happen," British Prime Minister Gordon Brown said.
"I think this is a breakthrough that takes us forward to
Copenhagen and makes a Copenhagen agreement possible."
An EU diplomat later confirmed progress had been made but
said: "I think they've come a long way, but not yet reached full
agreement."
The EU's Swedish presidency drew up revised proposals after
talks broke down on Thursday, largely because of a rift between
nine countries from eastern Europe and the richer member states
over how the burden should be shared. []
Funding is central to the chances of success in Copenhagen
because developing countries say they will not sign up to
tackling climate change without enough funds from rich nations.
CRITICISM BY TUTU
A draft summit declaration showed the leaders of the 27 EU
countries were preparing to back an estimate that developing
nations need 100 billion euros ($148 billion) a year by 2020 to
tackle climate problems.
The EU will put up some of that money, together with other
countries and industry. But the poorer EU countries in eastern
Europe want to know how much they will have to provide.
Many EU states say agreeing figures now would encourage
others, such as the United States, to follow suit. But Germany
wants to wait until other global powers have said how much they
will provide.
"The EU will be pioneering in this respect (financing).
However, the commitments will also be tied to other countries
making similar financial pledges," German Chancellor Angela
Merkel told reporters.
The EU leaders faced criticism from Nobel-prize winning
South African cleric Desmond Tutu, who urged Merkel and Polish
Prime Minister Donald Tusk in particular to help make a deal
possible in Copenhagen.
"World leaders are backtracking, mumbling about domestic
difficulties and lack of time whilst the European Union,
previously progressive champions for action on climate change,
is paralysed by the unseemly bickering amongst its member states
over who will pay the bill," he wrote.
BLAIR'S HOPES SLIDE
The main achievement on the first day of the summit was an
agreement opening the way to ratification of the Lisbon treaty,
which would ease EU decision-making, create an EU president and
increase the powers of its foreign policy chief. []
Under the deal, the leaders accepted Czech President Vaclav
Klaus's demands for an opt-out from a rights charter attached to
the treaty, to shield the Czech Republic from property claims by
ethnic Germans expelled after World War Two. []
Ratification by the Czech Republic, the only EU state that
has not ratified, now depends on its constitutional court
rejecting a legal challenge in a ruling expected on Tuesday.
The leaders said they did not discuss who would be the EU
president, but former British prime minister Blair's hopes faded
when his candidacy failed to secure the blessing of European
socialists who are his ruling Labour Party's allies.
The post is now more likely to go to a centre-right leader,
especially as centre-right parties dominate the European
Parliament and form a majority among EU leaders. []
No front-runner has emerged, but possible contenders include
Dutch Prime Minister Jan Peter Balkenende, former Finnish prime
minister Paavo Lipponen and Luxembourg Prime Minister
Jean-Claude Juncker. []
(Writing by Timothy Heritage; Editing by Kevin Liffey)
