Brussels, 08/12/2008 (Agence Europe) -After an extended discussion with the Energy Ministers of the EU on Monday 8 December, the president-in-exercise of the Council, Jean-Louis Borloo, confirmed that an agreement on the "Climate/Energy" package, particularly the "renewables" directive, was imminent. According to the French Ecology Minister, an agreement may be reached over night during the Commission/Council/Parliament trialogues. Also confirming the likelihood of a meeting "before the end of the week", the Energy Commissioner Andris Piebalgs congratulated the French Presidency on its unstinting efforts and the "determination" to the Council to "put the finishing touches" this dossier ahead of the European Council of 11 and 12 December, and the vote of the European Parliament at first reading in Strasbourg next week. It is worth noting that Mr Borloo confirmed that Italy had lifted its reservation on the "renewables" directive. Rome is calling for the cooperation mechanism, which will allow the Member States to work together on joint projects for the development of green infrastructure, to be reassessed in 2014. The negotiators are believed to have come to a compromise on a provision guaranteeing that the re-evaluation will not allow the Member States to reduce the overall objective of 20% of renewables in the overall energy consumption of the EU and the individual national objectives allocated to them. (E.H./trans.fl)