European Union leaders will agree at a summit this week to phase out the EU's dependency on imports of Russian gas, oil and coal, a draft statement showed, marking a turning point in its policy towards Moscow prompted by Russia's invasion of Ukraine.
EU leaders will meet in Versailles on Thursday and Friday to discuss boosting their joint defence capability and Ukraine's bid to become a member of the 27-nation bloc. L8N2V445U
Burned by the experience of supply shortages in microchips and pharmaceuticals during the COVID-19 pandemic, the leaders will also discuss how to make the EU more strategically independent of global suppliers in these sectors and food.
"We agreed to phase out our dependency on Russian gas, oil and coal imports," the draft statement of the leaders, seen by Reuters, said.
The task will be tough, however, because the EU buys from Russia 45% of its imported gas, around a third of its oil and nearly half of its coal. This makes the bloc vulnerable should Russia decide to retaliate for EU policies by curbing exports.