EU plans to present proposals by mid-May on eliminating dependency on Russian energy by 2027
From CNN's Chris Liakos
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said on Friday that the European Union plans to present proposals by mid-May on eliminating its dependency on Russian energy by 2027.
“By mid-May, we will come up with a proposal to phase out our dependency on Russian gas, oil and coal by 2027, backed by the necessary national and European resources,” said von der Leyen, speaking alongside EU Council President Charles Michel and French President Emmanuel Macron following the EU leaders’ summit on Ukraine in Versailles, France.
Von der Leyen also added that by the end of March, the commission will present “options to limit the contagion effect of the rise of gas prices to electricity prices,” and that the EU plans to set up a task force that will design a refilling plan for the next winter.
“The European Union needs to define a longer-term EU gas storage policy, and therefore the commission will table a proposal to fill up underground gas storage to at least 90% by the first of October each year,” she said.
“This will be our insurance policy against supply disruption,” she added.
Earlier this week, the EU said it will cut Russian gas imports by two-thirds this year and eliminate its overall need for Russian oil and gas “well before 2030.”