Reuters
The European Union plans to start jointly buying gas before winter, the bloc's energy policy chief said on Monday, as it seeks to cut reliance on Russian fossil fuels and build a buffer against further energy supply shocks. The European Commission, the EU's executive arm, last week proposed a plan for how the bloc could quit Russian fossil fuels by 2027, by speeding up investments in renewable energy and energy savings and switching to non-Russian fossil fuels. In an interview with Reuters, EU energy policy chief Kadri Simson said the bloc intended to start jointly buying gas this year, supported by an EU platform launched last month that would pool countries' demand and coordinate use of infrastructure to import non-Russian supplies.