European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen has called on European Union nations to agree on a complete ban of Russian oil imports by the end of the year.

Von der Leyen made the proposal to the European Parliament on Wednesday as part of an additional package of sanctions against Russia over its invasion of Ukraine.

She acknowledged that stopping the imports will not be easy, noting that some EU member states are strongly dependent on Russian oil. But she stressed, "We simply have to work on it."

She said, "We will make sure that we phase out Russian oil in an orderly fashion, in a way that allows us and our partners to secure alternative supply routes and minimizes the impact on global markets."

She proposed a plan to phase out the supply of Russian crude oil within six months and refined products by the end of the year.

An agreement by all EU member nations is necessary to impose the sanctions. Detailed negotiations may still be needed to reach an agreement because of differences among the nations. Hungary has voiced opposition to banning imports of Russian oil and natural gas.

Von der Leyen also proposed blocking Sberbank, Russia's largest bank, from the SWIFT global payment network.