The European Parliament has approved a bill that would make it easier for people to travel All 27 European Union countries are “totally determined” to impose sanctions on Russia, which could target oil and coal, according to French Finance Minister Bruno Le Maire.

Because Europe relies on Russian oil, gas, and coal, reaching an agreement on energy policy is difficult, but reports of the killings outside of Kyiv have heightened calls for stiffer EU sanctions.

Europe has been hesitant to target Russian energy because of fears that it would send the European economy into a tailspin. In some ways, going without Russian oil would be easier for Europe than going without Russian gas because most supplies are delivered by tankers and could be obtained from other sources. However, speculation about a possible boycott of Russian oil has pushed up global oil prices this week.

When asked if there was political will to impose sanctions on Russian oil and coal, as French President Emmanuel Macron suggested this week, Le Maire said, “We’ll see what the other member states’ positions are, but I think there’s a possibility of having unity on the 27 member states on these new sanctions.”

He made no mention of natural gas and reaching an agreement on how to target the fuel used to generate electricity and heat houses would be considerably more challenging. The EU imports nearly 40% of its natural gas from Russia, and many EU members, particularly Germany, the bloc’s largest economy, reject a gas embargo.

France currently holds the EU Council presidency, and Le Maire spoke ahead of a meeting of EU finance ministers in Luxembourg, where they will debate further sanctions against Russia.

While the EU has so far refrained from punishing Russian energy, individual nations have announced measures to reduce their reliance: Poland has said it would stop importing Russian coal and oil, while Lithuania has indicated it will no longer use Russian natural gas.

The European Union imports roughly 25% of its oil from Russia, and in 2020, the EU imported 53% of its hard coal from the country, accounting for 30% of the EU’s hard coal usage.

Although coal and oil may be on the table, Teresa Ribera, Spain’s Minister for the Environment, said Tuesday that sanctioning Russian natural gas would be “extremely difficult” because several EU countries rely on it for energy and that the EU’s strength resides in its unity.

“It’s really difficult to explain to European public opinion and Ukrainian society why we’re still importing Russian energy, which funds this war,” she said, adding that energy imports cause “clear moral tension.”

Russian fossil fuel is largely delivered by permanent pipeline, making it more difficult to replace it with expensive and rare liquefied natural gas supplies. While oil is less difficult to obtain than gasoline, abandoning it would have ramifications.

For one thing, the consequent price hikes for other oil could encourage India and China, which aren’t subject to Western sanctions, to purchase cheaper Russian petroleum. Russia is also a key supplier of diesel fuel; if that supply is cut off, running diesel-powered trucks and farm equipment might become prohibitively expensive, adding to Europe’s already high inflation.

According to commodities analysts at German bank Commerzbank, oil prices surged as buyers looking to avoid Russian oil bid for restricted supplies from other producers such as Saudi Arabia.

Brent, the international benchmark, climbed 3% on Monday and was trading above $108 per barrel on Tuesday, up 1%. On Tuesday, US crude jumped 1.1 percent to $104.37. Crude prices have fallen after US President Joe Biden stated last week that 180 million barrels of oil will be released from strategic stockpiles over the next six months. Drivers in the United States will pay more for fuel as oil prices rise.

The European Commission, the EU’s executive arm, will develop the next set of EU sanctions, which will be presented to EU governments for approval.