By Francesca Piscioneri and Pete Harrison
NAPLES/BRUSSELS (Reuters) - Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi warned on Tuesday that 10 other EU nations backed his efforts to block an EU climate plan, prompting further doubts over European action on global warming.
Berlusconi shocked other European Union leaders at a summit last week by threatening to veto an EU proposal to cut carbon dioxide emissions by a fifth by 2020 unless it was adapted to protect Italian industry.
The move added Italy's weight to a group of former communist nations that believe the curbs will make their coal-powered industry uncompetitive, particularly with economists now predicting a sharp slow-down in the world economy.
"It cannot be us, who have the biggest manufacturing economy in Europe along with Germany, to take on the costs that would depress our economy, our automotive sector, compared with other economies, in a moment of crisis," Berlusconi said, winning applause from business people at a conference in Naples.
He compared the EU -- which sees itself as at the vanguard of moves to tackle climate change -- to the naive fictional character Don Quixote for acting without similar commitments from other big emitters like Russia and India, China and the United States.
"I've always admired Don Quixote," he said. "Absolutely! Let's go on the attack! But let's go on the attack with rationality. And above all... in a balanced and just way."
Eight countries -- Poland, Hungary, Bulgaria, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Romania and Slovakia -- last week urged the rest of the EU to recognize their economic difficulties. It was not clear what other two countries Berlusconi was referring to.
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But analysts and environmentalists say Italy's unexpected change of stance has caught the EU off-guard and threatens the bloc's ability to meet its own climate goals.
"Nobody really envisaged a west European state playing hardball," said analyst Simon Tilford at London's Center for European Reform.
"It won't dilute the target, but it might make it harder to meet it," he added. "And this is all before the economic crisis has really started to make itself felt."
Italy's Environment Minister Stefania Prestigiacomo told reporters at a meeting of ecology ministers this week that she would push for a commitment to review climate targets, but other ministers said she did not raise the subject in their talks.
That led to accusations that leaders from Italy and eastern Europe were playing to voters and business audiences at home.
New green technologies for energy efficiency and renewable energy could create 120,000 jobs in Italy, said Greenpeace spokesman Mark Breddy.
"Mr. Berlusconi is prepared to ignore the interests of his people for the sake of another fortnight in Europe's political limelight," he added. "But the EU is not the Roman Empire and he's certainly not the emperor."
Italy and east European nations last week won increased influence over the detail of the legislation to be agreed at a December summit, prompting angry protest from the European Parliament, which fears being sidelined.
The Parliament has equal powers of so-called "co-decision" on the matter and has so far favored tough moves regardless of the impact on traditional industries like steel and cement.
"We still have grave differences on the 'hows' of European democracy, and the environmental substance of Europe," said German Green lawmaker Daniel Cohn-Bendit.
(Additional reporting by Robin Pomeroy in Rome and Jeremy Smith in Brussels; editing by James Jukwey)
