The European Union confirmed on Wednesday that it intends to end all imports of crude oil and refined petroleum products from Russia by the end of this year, the most extreme measure announced so far by the EU bloc – with the idea of ​​putting economic pressure on Russia to end the war in Ukraine, Reuters informs.

Oil prices rose immediately after the announcement, amid rising competition for oil supplies from other sources. At around 7:45 GMT, WTI (West Texas Intermediate) crude futures were up 2.8% to $105.31 a barrel, while Brent crude futures were rising by 2.7%, to $107.84 per barrel.

As part of the sixth sanctions package, the EU bloc announced on Wednesday that it would also exclude Sberbank, Russia’s largest bank, along with two other Russian banks, from the SWIFT financial messaging system, which will further increase Russia’s isolation from the international financial system, according to Agerpres.

The embargo announced by the EU executive on Wednesday was largely awaited by analysts, after last week Germany, the first European economy, gave up its previous opposition to the idea of ​​banning Russian oil imports.

According to measures unveiled on Wednesday, the EU will end imports of Russian crude oil within six months, and imports of refined petroleum products will cease by the end of 2022. Greater delay in the decision on refined products is linked to greater EU dependence to diesel imported from Russia.

In a speech in the European Parliament, the President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, did not offer any indications of a possible exemption from the new regulation, despite rumors appearing in the press about the possibility of further importing Russian oil by Hungary and Slovakia, countries whose energy systems were built during the communist era and are completely dependent on Russian oil pipelines.