A Polish diplomat yesterday refuted reports that the Greek and Polish environment ministers had co-signed an accord involving other European Union states aimed at stalling the EU’s plans for curbing global warming but confirmed that a verbal agreement had been reached.

“Greece signed no such accord,” Joanna Mackowiak, a spokesperson for Polish Environment Minister Maciej Nowicki, told Skai. But Mackowiak added that “there was a verbal agreement with (Greek Environment Minister) Giorgos Souflias and his Polish counterpart.”

Mackowiak was speaking after comments by Andrea Jankowski, a diplomat at Poland’s embassy in Athens, referring to the alleged participation of Greece in an initiative aimed at stalling the EU climate change plan. Still Mackowiak said Poland and Greece “have common problems as regards the EU energy package and emissions trading system and so we agreed on a joint strategy.”