BRUSSELS, April 22 (UPI) -- The European Union has delayed a decision on whether to classify oil sands as a "dirty" form of crude oil, bringing praise from Canadian officials.

Canada has long-opposed the EU's consideration of crude derived from oil sands as a dirty oil, which, if adopted, would impose higher carbon offsets on European importers of the product.

The government of Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper says such a move would be discriminatory and would unfairly label oil sands as having higher carbon emissions without also studying greenhouse gases involved in the production of some types of conventional crude oils the EU imports.