BALI -- Head of Iran's Department of the Environment, Ma'soumeh Ebtekar, here Thursday proposed that the European Union and the Group of 77 developing countries hold a special meeting to debate unresolved issues related to the action plan to balance economic development with environment.

Ebtekar was speaking at the joint Iran-EU meeting on the sidelines of the UN-sponsored ministerial meeting on sustainable development as the head of Iranian delegation.

The EU delegation was led by the EU Commissioner for the Environment Margot Wallstrom, and the Spanish and Danish ministers of environment, who welcomed Ebtekar's proposal.

Ebtekar stressed the need to continue negotiations to solve the issues pertaining to documents of the Bali meeting, and said the issues should not be left to be discussed at the upcoming World Summit on Sustainable Development (WSSD) in Johannesburg, August 26 to September 4.

She called on the developed countries to fulfill their commitments to help the under-privileged nations in their struggle to attain progress and development, IRNA reported.

Wallstrom, for her part, expressed regret that the meeting had reached a deadlock in sketching out an action plan aimed at balancing global economic development with the environment.

She appreciated Iran's efforts to facilitate debates and to have an active presence in the expert meetings on development in Bali.

The EU commissioner further voiced the union's readiness to cooperate with the G77 regarding the results of the Bali development meeting.

Ebtekar arrived in Bali on Monday to attend a three-day UN-sponsored ministerial meeting on sustainable development meant to finalize a series of implementation plans, called the chairman's text, that should help world leaders stick to their commitments to sustainable development.

The Bali meeting which opened on Wednesday will debate a political declaration to be adopted in the upcoming World Summit on Sustainable Development (WSSD) in Johannesburg, August 26 to September 4.

It follows a UN meeting of environment officials and activists in Bali that began last Monday to sketch out a draft action plan to protect the planet.