European Union leaders are gathering for a summit in France on March 10 to find ways to urgently address the impact of Russia's invasion of Ukraine on the 27-member bloc.
French President Emmanuel Macron, whose country currently holds the EU rotating presidency, will spearhead the crisis summit at the palace of Versailles.
"Russia's war of aggression constitutes a tectonic shift in European history," a draft of the two-day meeting's final declaration seen by AFP said.
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The leaders will grasp "how the EU can live up to its responsibilities in this new reality, protecting our citizens, values, democracies, and our European model."
The conflict has seen an increase in EU support for Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy, and the summit was expected to discuss the leader's plea to swiftly join the EU and escape the clutches of Russia.
Diplomats said the main topic of the summit was to urgently explore ways to consolidate the EU's self-reliance in the energy sector.
The spike in energy prices caused by the Ukraine invasion has endangered the EU economy already weakened by the coronavirus pandemic.
The EU imports about 40 percent of its natural gas from Russia. Germany, Europe's biggest economy, is especially dependent on the energy flow, along with Italy and several Central European countries.
About a quarter of the EU's oil imports also come from Russia.
Europe's dependency on Russian energy caused a first crack in the West's joint response to Russia's aggression, with the EU this week stopping short of a ban on Russian oil imports implemented by the United States and Britain.
According to the meeting's final declaration, the 27 leaders will cautiously agree to "phase out" the bloc's dependency on Russian gas, oil, and coal.