EU agrees binding environment goals: Merkel

BRUSSELS (Reuters) - European Union leaders agreed a full package of binding measures on Friday to build a common energy policy and fight climate change, challenging the world to follow suit, German Chancellor Angela Merkel said.

Merkel, who chaired a two-day summit, said the decisions taken by the 27-nation bloc, including a disputed binding target for renewable energy sources, were "ambitious and credible."

"I personally am very satisfied and happy that it has been possible to open the door into a whole new dimension of European cooperation in the years to come in the area of energy and combating climate change," she told a final news conference.