Reuters: Officials of EU member states are almost certain to agree on a mandate this week to begin talks with the European parliament on a proposal to prop up carbon prices, an EU official said on Monday. "I am 99 percent confident we will get a mandate on Friday," said the official close to the process who asked not be to named. Lithuania, which holds the EU presidency, has put forward the EU's so-called backloading' proposal for discussion at Friday's meeting of member state officials in Brussels. Backloading...