Egypt, Euro and energy to dominate EU leaders' meeting
LONDON. February 4. KAZINFORM EU leaders are preparing to meet for a one-day summit, with energy, the eurozone debt crisis and unrest in Egypt set to dominate the agenda; Kazinform refers to BBC News.
The Brussels talks were called as part of plans to boost growth in the region and reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
The European Commission estimates EU countries will have to spend one trillion euros on energy infrastructure over the coming decade.
But the leaders are also expected to condemn the violence in Egypt.
The AFP news agency said it had obtained an early copy of a statement on Egypt to be put forward by the leaders at the European Council talks.
In it, the leaders will say they "condemned violence in the strongest terms" and call for an "expeditious and orderly transition" of power, AFP reports.
The summit was called to focus on energy and innovation, which are critical issues for the European Union.
The union has set itself ambitious energy targets, which will only be achieved by massive investment - some one trillion euro (£850bn; $1.4tn) - in the region's energy infrastructure.
Larger member states want the money to come from private industry; others argue that there has to be some EU funding involved; Kazinform cites BBC News.
See www.bbc.co.uk for full version