It has taken weeks for EU countries to reach an agreement on the details of the measure, with intensive talks continuing over the weekend. The finalised proposal will be presented by the European Commission for approval by EU ambassadors, who are expected to meet on Wednesday and give their final approval by the end of the week, according to several EU officials and diplomats involved in the process. The officials and diplomats, who spoke anonymously, noted that the oil embargo will be a significant new step in the EU's sixth package of sanctions following Russia's invasion of Ukraine on Feb. 24. The package will also include sanctions against Russia's largest bank, Sberbank, as well as additional measures targeting prominent Russians. Unless Hungary makes a last-minute request, the process should be completed without needing an EU leaders' meeting, which would be time-consuming. The embargo is expected to impact Russian oil transported by tankers more quickly than oil transported by pipeline, which could take months. The EU is likely to allow its members to gradually end existing contracts with Russian oil companies, similar to the approach taken with the coal ban. Germany's role has been crucial in finalizing the new measure, as the country was importing about one-third of its oil from Russia before the Ukraine invasion. However, Germany's influential energy minister, Robert Habeck, stated this week that Germany has managed to reduce its reliance on Russian oil to just 12% in recent weeks, making a complete embargo "manageable." Habeck mentioned during a visit to Warsaw, Poland, on Tuesday that the problem which seemed significant for Germany a few weeks ago has now diminished significantly. He also mentioned that Germany is very close to achieving independence from Russian oil imports, although he did not elaborate on how this was achieved so quickly. Russia supplies about a quarter of Europe's annual oil needs, accounting for half of Russia's total exports according to 2020 data. As the oil embargo is gradually implemented, the European bloc plans to compensate for the shortfall by increasing imports from other sources like Persian Gulf countries, Nigeria, Kazakhstan, and Azerbaijan. Despite a phased implementation period, the embargo is expected to impact global oil prices and exacerbate already high energy costs worldwide. One suggestion to reduce the impact, proposed by US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen recently, was to place tariffs or a price limit on Russia's oil rather than completely banning it. However, European officials stated that this idea did not receive much support.