The European Union could suspend parts of a new law requiring airlines to account for their greenhouse gas emissions if countries were to make clear progress this year toward establishing a global emissions control system, a senior official said Tuesday.

The comments, by Jos Delbeke, the director general for climate action at the European Commission, came the day after China announced that its carriers would be forbidden to pay any charges under the European emissions system without Beijing’s permission.

The European Union’s executive arm announced plans on Wednesday aimed at stopping its countries from striking bilateral deals that cede too much power to oil and gas exporters like Russia.

Günther Oettinger, the European energy commissioner, says Europe needs to speak “with one voice” in energy matters.

Europe needs to look “beyond its borders to ensure the security of energy supplies” and “act together and speak with one voice,” the European Union energy commissioner, Günther Oettinger, said at a news conference.

When the European Union

The French authorities said Sunday that the latest outbreak of a deadly strain of E.

The Swiss government decided Wednesday to abandon plans to build new nuclear reactors, while European Union regulators agreed on a framework for stress-testing theirs, as repercussions from the disaster in Japan continue to ripple across Europe.

A nuclear plant in Leibstadt, Switzerland.

WHAT could be the world

BARCELONA: Few people call it eco-friendly when a company like Royal Dutch Shell, to pump natural gas and make petroleum products, disturbs coral reefs and damages the habitats of rare desert truffles and vulnerable birds. But the energy giant may have found a way to turn local environmental losses into a plus for biodiversity - and its business.

BRUSSELS: As the United States moves toward action on global warming, practical experience with carbon markets in the European Union raises a critical question: Will such systems ever work?