Brussels, 13/05/2008 (Agence Europe) - EU member states failed to reach agreement at the COREPER meeting on 7 May on firming up sustainability criteria for biofuels to meet the 10% target by 2020. Led by an ad hoc Council group since March, talks are having difficulties over several issues: - the effectiveness of biofuels in terms of CO2 emissions savings compared with fossil fuels: this point sets the Netherlands, the United Kingdom and the Scandinavian countries, which want to certify only products which bring a 50% reduction at least and argue for the EU to be progressively more ambitious in order to encourage producers to move more quickly from first to second generation biofuels, at odds with member states like France which want to stick, for the time being, to current 35% threshold to develop production while awaiting the second generation and refuse to make this criterion stiffer before 2015-2020; - the imposition of compulsory criteria, the requirement for information or monitoring of the environmental and social impact of the production of biofuels imported from third countries: this point sets Germany and France and some of the new member states, which want to defend their national production sectors and argue for rigorous criteria to limit the impact of biofuels on food prices or deforestation, against the Netherlands, the United Kingdom and the Scandinavian countries which are counting on imports to meet their needs and which reject any hindrance to free trade - the first group support only taking supplies from countries which have ratified at least ten international environmental or social rights conventions or treaties, with the other option, supported by importing countries the Commission, being the requirement on all producers, and not supplier countries, to meet a series of standards on social rights, air pollution, water pollution, preservation of soil quality, consultation of the local people, working conditions, etc; - the way of calculating savings in greenhouse gas emissions achieved by using biofuels. (E.H.)