EU pledges to cut Russian gas imports by two-thirds before the end of the year

A driver fills up the tank of his car at the pump of a low-cost Prio Gas Station on the eve of an announced fuel price increase on March 06, 2022, in Portugal.

The European Union presented a plan to reduce its dependence on Russian energy on Tuesday, amid Moscow's invasion of Ukraine, sky-high prices and a potential embargo of Russian crude.

The European Commission wants to stop buying fossil fuels from Russia before 2030. It has pledged to reduce its purchases of Russian gas by two-thirds by the end of the year.

The commission said in a statement Tuesday that it would be achieved by increasing renewable hydrogen production and improving energy efficiency in households.

The bloc has been criticized for being too reliant on Russia for energy in the wake of Russia's attack on Ukraine.

Russian oil imports accounted for 25% of the bloc's crude purchases in 2020.

We could gradually remove at least 155 billion cubic meters of fossil gas use, which is equivalent to the volume imported from Russia in 2021. The commission said that nearly two-thirds of the reduction can be achieved within a year.

The commission wants EU nations to fill their gas storage by at least 90 percent by Oct. 1 every year. State aid rules could be relaxed to help companies with high energy prices, according to the institution.

Ursula von der Leyen, the European Commission president, said in a statement that they need to act now to mitigate the impact of rising energy prices.

The EU is under pressure to ban imports of Russian oil and natural gas.

Legislation is being worked on to stop the U.S. from buying Russian oil. Many EU countries are concerned that following suit would cause an economic problem.

At the moment, energy supply into Europe cannot be secured in any other way, according to the Chancellor of Germany.

Hungary's government will not support any measure that would put Hungary's energy security at risk.

The foreign minister of Latvia said that criticism of the EU for relying too much on Russian energy is justified.

He said that they are now fixing whatever they can.

An EU official, who did not want to be named due to the sensitive nature of the discussion, told CNBC Monday that there is no agreement among the 27 nations regarding energy sanctions against Russia. The source said that this will become a move for national governments to make, meaning that different EU capitals could take decisions of their own.

EU leaders are expected to discuss how to become more independent from Russian energy when they meet in France on Thursday.