The head of the European Union proposed eliminating Russian oil imports by the end of the year as part of a new round of sanctions over Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen made the proposal in a speech to the European Parliament in Strasbourg on Wednesday.
“Let’s be clear: it will not be easy, because some member states are strongly dependent on Russian oil. But we simply have to do it,” von der Leyen said. “So today we will propose to ban all Russian oil from Europe.”
Von der Leyen proposed phasing out crude imports to the 27-member bloc within six months, and refined products by the end of the year.
“We will make sure that we phase out Russian oil in an orderly fashion, so in a way that allows us and our partners to secure alternative supply routes and at the same time, be very careful that we minimize the impact on the global market,” von der Leyen said.
The European Union imports roughly 27 percent of its oil from Russia, and some member states are dependent on Russia for energy needs.
E.U. members Slovakia and Hungary said on Tuesday that they will oppose a ban on Russian oil imports. Slovakia is almost completely dependent on Russia for oil, while Hungary imports about 60 percent of its oil from Russia, Hungarian prime minister Victor Orban has said.
Europe is also dependent on Russia for its natural gas needs. In March, German chancellor Olaf Scholz defended sanctions exemptions on Russian energy products, saying “Europe’s supply of energy…cannot be secured in any other way.”
Germany subsequently announced in April that it will end oil imports and attempt to end natural gas imports.
“We will halve oil by the summer and will be at zero by the end of the year, and then gas will follow, in a joint European roadmap, because our joint exit, the complete exit of the European Union, is our common strength,” German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock said.