It has taken several weeks for European Union countries to reach an agreement on the details of the new measure. Talks will continue over the weekend before the European Commission finalizes a proposal for approval by EU ambassadors. The ambassadors are expected to meet on Wednesday and give their final approval by the end of the week, according to EU officials and diplomats involved in the process. The oil embargo is set to be the most significant new action in the EU's sixth round of sanctions since Russia's invasion of Ukraine on February 24. The package will also include sanctions against Russia's largest bank, Sberbank, and additional measures targeting prominent Russians. Diplomats and officials are speaking anonymously due to the sensitive nature of the discussions. Unless Hungary makes a last-minute demand, the process should be completed smoothly without the need for an EU leaders' meeting. This will prevent the time-consuming task of gathering all 27 heads of state in Brussels. The embargo is expected to impact Russian oil transported by tankers faster than oil coming through pipelines, which could take several months. It is likely that the EU will allow its members to gradually end existing contracts with Russian oil companies, similar to how it handled the coal ban by giving four months for full implementation. Germany's role has been crucial in finalizing this new measure, as the country, being the bloc's economic leader, was importing around one-third of its oil from Russia before the Ukraine invasion. However, Germany's influential energy minister, Robert Habeck, stated this week that the country has managed to reduce its dependence on Russian oil imports to just 12% in recent weeks, making a full embargo "manageable." Habeck made these comments during a visit to Warsaw, Poland, where he mentioned that what seemed like a significant problem for Germany a few weeks ago has now become much smaller. He noted that Germany is very close to achieving independence from Russian oil imports, although he did not provide details on how this was achieved so quickly. Russia is Europe's largest oil supplier, accounting for about a quarter of the bloc's annual needs, based on 2020 data, which is approximately half of Russia's total exports. As the oil embargo is gradually implemented, officials have indicated that the EU will look to increase imports from other sources, including countries in the Persian Gulf, Nigeria, Kazakhstan, and Azerbaijan. Despite a phased-in approach to the embargo, it is expected to impact global oil prices and exacerbate already high energy costs worldwide. US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen suggested the idea of imposing tariffs or a price cap on Russia's oil instead of a complete embargo to reduce its impact, but European officials did not support this proposal.