Since the start of the Iran war in late February, the European Union has spent an additional €90 billion ($103.9 billion) on importing fossil fuels, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said.
Restrictions on shipping in the Strait of Hormuz had once again painfully demonstrated how costly Europe's overall dependence on imported fossil fuels was, von der Leyen told EU lawmakers on Wednesday.
"We need to double down on our affordable and homegrown clean energy" to become independent and to drive prices down, von der Leyen said at the European Parliament in Strasbourg, France.
The commission's goal is to double the share of electricity generated from domestic energy sources by 2040. This is estimated to save up to €260 billion in fossil fuel import costs by then.
To ensure the energy generated is also available, grid connections would need to be accelerated, storage capacity expanded and investment stepped up, she said.