BRUSSELS, December 3. /TASS/. The phasing out of Russian fossil fuels in EU member states will become "the dawn of a new era" of energy independence for the Union, European Commission (EC) President Ursula von der Leyen said.
"We reached a provisional agreement on the Commission's proposal to fully phase out Russian fossil fuels. <…> This is the dawn of a new era. The era of Europe's full energy independence from Russia," she said.
EU countries are switching to supplies from reliable partners, mainly the US and Norway, and to generating electricity from renewable sources, which currently provide half of the EU's consumption, according to the EC.
That said, the EC chief acknowledged that EU countries continue to purchase 13% of imported gas from Russia now.
In turn, EU Energy Commissioner Dan Jorgensen said that the European Commission intends to fully ban purchases of Russian oil no later than the end of 2027.
The oil ban will actually only affect pipeline supplies as the ban on EU countries purchasing Russian oil delivered by sea was introduced in the EU from the end of 2022 as part of sanctions restrictions.