By Kate Abnett

BRUSSELS (Reuters), European Union representatives will meet in Vienna on Monday with representatives of OPEC, amid calls from the producer group for increased output and to address potential sanctions on Russian oil.

OPEC refused to be pressured by the United States or the International Energy Agency to produce more crude oil to cool the prices. They reached a record high of 14.3 million barrels last month, after Washington and Brussels imposed harsh sanctions on Moscow for its invasion in Ukraine.

OPEC+, which is made up of Russia and other producers including the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries, will boost output by around 432,000 barrels each day in May.

This Monday’s EU-OPEC meeting is the most recent in a series of dialogues between these two sides that began in 2005.

The EU has not sanctioned Russian oil. However, the EU’s 27-country bloc has agreed to sanctions Russian coal last week – their first attempt to curb energy supply – and some EU officials have suggested that oil may be next.

According to the statements of the Dutch, Lithuanian, and Irish foreign ministers on Monday as they arrived in Luxembourg to meet with EU counterparts, the European Commission is currently drafting oil embargo proposals against Russia.

Australia, Canada, and the United States are all less dependent on Russian supplies than Europe. They have also banned Russian oil imports.

EU nations are divided over following suit due to their greater dependency and potential to drive up energy prices already in Europe.

Under its plans to combat climate change, the EU projects that its oil consumption will drop by 30% between 2015 and 2030. However, in the near term an embargo could trigger a rush to substitute Russian oil with other sources.