Brussels, 15/12/2003 (Agence Europe) - The Presidency and Loyola de Palacio, the Commissioner for Energy, spiced up the press conference to close Monday's Energy Council by inviting it to look at "other hypotheses" than the Kyoto Protocol to reconcile the EU objectives of environment and economy. The Italian Presidency started by saying that the Member States had expressed their concern at the Russian decisions not to apply the Protocol (see p.15). "If we want to reach serious results, the Kyoto Protocol will have to be respected by all", said Antonio Marzano, Italian Minister for Production Activities. Mr Marzano regretted the fact that this is the case "in many areas" and that "if only European companies are held by it", there will be a "shortfall in terms of competitiveness in the EU". For this reason, he thinks we should "prepare" for other scenarios. Ms de Palacio added: "it would be a serious mistake if, now that the Russians have announced that they do not intend to ratify Kyoto, we will go on without asking ourselves what we plan to do". "We have a strategy, but it seems to present a genuine problem", she said, continuing: "I am not calling Kyoto into question, but we have to take all possible scenarios into account" and think of other hypotheses. "We must not wait until 2008" (the date of effective implementation of measure on trade in emissions), she concluded.