European Union countries are discussing the extent to which they are prepared to combat climate change, with the possibility of implementing the world's most ambitious plan to reduce global warming. A draft statement, obtained by Reuters, supports a proposal to decrease EU greenhouse gas emissions by a minimum of 20 percent by 2020 compared to levels in 1990. The bloc is also open to reducing emissions by 30 percent by 2020 if other industrialized nations follow suit and economically advanced developing countries also contribute. This stance is expected to guide the EU's stance in future negotiations for a global agreement on emissions reduction post-2012, when the initial period of the Kyoto Protocol ends. However, Hungary and Poland, new EU members since 2004, are against mandating the 20 or 30 percent targets. Finland, Sweden, and Denmark have differing opinions on a unilateral EU target, with Sweden and Denmark advocating for a 30 percent reduction from the beginning. Some states also suggest using a base year other than 1990 for calculating emissions cuts. Germany, as the current holder of the EU presidency, will work to resolve disagreements among ministers to gain unanimous support for the climate change strategy before the bloc's summit in March. The draft proposes that EU states commit to a 30 percent target, contingent on other developed countries making similar reductions and economically advanced developing countries contributing appropriately. The statement emphasizes the need for a 'differentiated approach' in allocating responsibilities among the 27 EU states. The Commission was urged to analyze how the targets would be distributed, emphasizing the importance of fairness and considering each country's circumstances and the Kyoto Protocol's base years. The 15 original EU member states have a joint goal to decrease greenhouse gas emissions by eight percent by 2012 compared to 1990 levels, with individual targets assigned under a burden-sharing agreement.