After US pressure, the EU is considering a faster Russian gas and oil exit.

Ursula von der Leyen, the head of the European Commission, said that new sanctions would include a quicker phase-out of Russian fuels. This comes after U.S. demands to stop buying Russian crude oil.

EU officials are currently in Washington, DC to discuss the coordination of further sanctions against Russia. The EU and U.S. are considering tougher measures to cut Moscow's revenues, but internal divisions, and the need for international support, raises questions about how effective these steps will be at isolating Russia.

A White House official confirmed that, in an effort to end Russia’s war against Ukraine, Donald Trump told European leaders to stop purchasing oil from Russia last week. He also asked the EU to impose tariffs of up to 100% on China and India to put more pressure on Moscow.

In her State of the Union Address to the European Parliament von der Leyen stated that the EU "is looking at phasing-out Russian fossil fuels quicker, the shadow fleet, and third countries", as part of the now being prepared 19th package of sanction.

The Kremlin announced on Monday that sanctions will never force Russia to alter its course in the Ukraine war.

The EU has already prohibited imports of seaborne oil from Russia, which accounts for more than 90 percent of its Russian oil purchases. It also imposed a cap on the price of Russian oil.

In recent years, it has targeted over 400 tankers for sanctions to stop the transportation of Russian crude oil by so-called "shadow fleet" of unregulated and aged vessels. It is now negotiating with legal proposals to phase out all imports of Russian gas and oil by January 1, 2028.

These deadlines could be accelerated by sanctions, but Hungary, Slovakia and other countries have opposed this so far, claiming that it would increase energy prices.

EU countries can agree on sanctions at unanimity, while other legal proposals may be approved with the support of a consolidated majority.

Analysts question the effectiveness of new sanctioned.

Ajay Parmar, ICIS analyst, said: "We've long held the belief that Western powers must have China and India join their sanctions in order for them to truly be effective."

We also believe it is unlikely that the EU would be realistically willing to apply sanctions against India, China or the UAE which have facilitated the Russian oil flow since the beginning of the war.

Hungary and Slovakia import between 200,000-250,000 barrels of Russian oil per day, which is equivalent to around 3% of EU demand.

EU gas purchases remain much larger. EU data indicates that Europe will purchase 13% of its natural gas from Russia in 2018, down from 45% prior to the Russian invasion of Ukraine 2022.

(source: Reuters)