The EU has proposed some of the strongest penalties against Russia yet, including a total embargo on oil imports and sanctions against suspected war criminals.
The package, according to European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, is designed to increase pressure on Russia while minimizing harm to Europe.
She stated that Russian crude oil would be phased out in six months.
The proposal has been rejected by Hungary, and the Czech and Slovak governments demand a transition time.
For weeks, the EU has been pondering how to wean itself off Russian oil and gas. It has already committed to halving gas imports by the end of 2022, and it now wants to phase out crude oil and processed goods over the next six months.
"We will ensure that we phase out Russian oil in a systematic manner," stated the Commission's president.
Russia contributed a quarter of the EU's oil imports last year, with the Netherlands and Germany being the main buyers.
The Dutch government has stated that all Russian fossil fuel imports will be stopped by the end of the year, and Germany has cut its dependency on Russian oil imports from 35% to 12%.
The United Kingdom, which is no longer a member of the European Union, is already phasing out Russian oil, which accounts for 8% of its imports.
The six-month transition period, according to German Economy Minister Robert Habeck, allows Berlin adequate time to implement the necessary changes.
The issue for Hungary, Slovakia, and the Czech Republic is that they are all landlocked countries that rely on their neighbors for gasoline. Vaclav Bartuska, the Czech special envoy for energy security, told the BBC that Europe was presently attempting to rebuild the map of energy sources as quickly as possible: "We want to get rid of Russian oil for good, and we want to be very certain that we won't have to ask Russia again."
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