EU commit to phasing out dependency on Russian fossil fuels

The European Union is seeking to fully phase out its dependency on Russian energy "well before 2030" to ensure the 27-nation bloc no longer faces difficult decisions about hurting their own economies in geopolitical crises like the invasion of Ukraine.

The EU leaders meet in Versailles outside Paris for a two-day summit starting Thursday and will be working on ways to reduce their dependency on Moscow for fossil fuels.

"We agreed to phase out our dependency on Russian gas, oil and coal imports," said a draft of the summit declaration seen by The Associated Press.

At the same time, the European Commission already has proposals to make it happen, including diversifying natural gas supplies and speeding up renewable energy development. The EU's executive arm said its measures "can reduce EU demand for Russian gas by two-thirds before the end of the year."

"We must become independent from Russian oil, coal and gas," commission President Ursula von der Leyen said in a statement. "We simply cannot rely on a supplier who explicitly threatens us."