A few months ago, the oil and gas industry worried that the European Union would use the energy paper to kill off shale gas drilling with a slew of new regulations and added costs. Instead, the commission appears to be settling for nonbinding recommendations that governments like Britain and Poland, which are most aggressively pursuing shale gas, might be able to further water down. The exploration of shale already faces headwinds as deposits in Poland are proving difficult to develop and as environmental groups move against the industry’s efforts to drill in their communities.

Germany, which has pushed for the energy and climate targets, has been struggling with the realities of shifting its energy mix. Germany’s plan, backed by Chancellor Angela Merkel and opposition parties, to close its nuclear power plants and build up renewable energy is running into problems. German consumers are being hit with rising electric bills, and businesses worry that energy costs are putting them at a disadvantage with competitors in countries like the United States.

Even so, German politicians were expressing their fears about the proposals from Brussels. “Europe must remain a leader in climate protection. For this we need clear, distinct goals for climate protection, renewable energy and energy efficiency,” Barbara Hendricks, Germany’s environment minister, said in a statement issued jointly on Wednesday with Sigmar Gabriel, the country’s energy minister.

Energy policy has always been thorny for the European Union because of the widely differing economic and political problems of its big member countries. For example, France sees nuclear power as important, while its neighbor Germany is phasing it out. Eastern European countries like Poland are heavily dependent on coal, a leading source of emissions.

With Europe experiencing its worst economic crisis in decades, environmental concerns have slipped down the political agenda as the Continent’s economies struggle to generate badly needed growth.

In 2007, the European Union agreed to targets including a 20 percent reduction in greenhouse gas emissions from 1990 levels by 2020, an increase in the share of energy consumption produced from renewable resources to 20 percent and a 20 percent improvement in energy efficiency. Europe has achieved most of that first goal, with estimates that it has overall reduced emissions by about 18 percent.

But, with 2020 looming, it feels obliged to adopt a new strategy because of the huge financial investments it would take to reach the mandated level.