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German lobbying delays EU car emissions deal

* Planned vote delayed following pressure from Berlin

* EU presidency spokeswoman says several nations want more time

* Compromise deal agreed on Monday after months of debate

BRUSSELS, June 27 (Reuters) - Forceful German lobbying has halted a compromise deal to enforce stricter rules on carbon dioxide emissions for all new cars in the European Union from 2020, EU sources said on Thursday.

The deal was hammered out late on Monday to enforce a limit of 95 grams per kilometre (g/km) as an average across the EU fleet by 2020.

It had the backing of most member states, EU sources said, but Germany, home to premium carmakers, such as Daimler and BMW, was not happy and has campaigned aggressively to overturn the agreement.

EU ambassadors were expected to follow up with a vote on Thursday, but failed to do so. The sources said the vote was delayed by lobbying and that Germany was seeking time to gather allies to overturn the deal reached on Monday.

A spokeswoman for Ireland, which holds the rotating EU presidency, said several delegations had asked for more time to study the agreement.

She added that Lithuania, which takes over the EU presidency from July 1, would oversee further talks.

Germany has been lobbying for weeks to shelter its premium car sector from the tighter regulations by campaigning for loopholes, known as supercredits.

These allow manufacturers to carry on producing more polluting vehicles provided they also make some very low emissions vehicles, such as electric cars.

The compromise agreement allows for some flexibility, but less than Germany had hoped for.

There was no immediate comment on the delay from Germany, which has defended its lobbying, saying its car industry is a major source of jobs.

Campaigners have voiced outrage at the delay, saying it was bad news for consumers, who risk missing out on the savings linked to lower-emission, more fuel efficient cars, as well as for climate policy.

Monique Goyens, director general of the European Consumer Organisation (BEUC) said it was "a clear case of the concerns of a handful of companies taking precedence over consumers' interests".

($1 = 0.7637 euros) (Editing by Jeff Coelho)