Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi warned on Tuesday that 10 other EU nations backed his efforts to block an EU climate plan, prompting further doubts over European action on global warming.
“It cannot be us, who have the biggest manufacturing economy in Europe along with Germany, to take on the costs that would depress our economy, our automotive sector, compared with other economies, in a moment of crisis,” Berlusconi said, winning applause from business people at a conference in Naples. Eight countries—Poland, Hungary, Bulgaria, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Romania and Slovakia—last week urged the rest of the EU to recognize their economic difficulties. It was not clear what other two countries Berlusconi was referring to.