EU Agrees to Push Ahead on Joint Arms Buying to Aid Ukraine

08 March 2023, Sweden, Stockholm: Minister of Defense of Ukraine Oleksii Reznikov speaks to the media ahead of an informal meeting of the EU Defense Ministers. (European Council/dpa)
08 March 2023, Sweden, Stockholm: Minister of Defense of Ukraine Oleksii Reznikov speaks to the media ahead of an informal meeting of the EU Defense Ministers. (European Council/dpa)
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EU Agrees to Push Ahead on Joint Arms Buying to Aid Ukraine

08 March 2023, Sweden, Stockholm: Minister of Defense of Ukraine Oleksii Reznikov speaks to the media ahead of an informal meeting of the EU Defense Ministers. (European Council/dpa)
08 March 2023, Sweden, Stockholm: Minister of Defense of Ukraine Oleksii Reznikov speaks to the media ahead of an informal meeting of the EU Defense Ministers. (European Council/dpa)

European Union countries agreed on Wednesday to speed up supplies of artillery rounds and buy more shells to help Ukraine but still have to work out how to turn these aims into reality.

Under a plan drawn up by foreign policy chief Josep Borrell, EU states would get financial incentives worth 1 billion euros ($1.06 billion) to send more of their artillery rounds to Kyiv while another 1 billion euros would fund joint procurement of new shells.

"There has been a general agreement on this procedure but there are questions pending. Everything has to be discussed in detail," Borrell said after a meeting of EU defense ministers in Stockholm also attended by their Ukrainian counterpart Oleksii Reznikov.

Borrell said he hoped the plan would be finalized at a meeting of EU foreign and defense ministers on March 20.

Reznikov had urged the ministers in Stockholm to support an Estonian plan for EU countries to club together to buy 1 million 155-millimeter shells this year at a cost of 4 billion euros to help fight Russia's invasion and launch a counter-offensive.

Borrell's plan is smaller in scale but would still be a landmark step for the EU as defense procurement has largely been the preserve of the bloc's individual member governments.

Boosting capacity

EU officials say if the bloc places a large order on behalf of member governments, they will get a better price and give arms firms a strong incentive to invest in increasing capacity.

However, officials said there was still much work to be done to hammer out details such as how the funding would work and who would take the lead in sealing deals with arms firms.

Ukraine is burning through shells faster than its allies can make them, officials say, prompting a renewed search for ammunition and ways to ramp up production.

Reznikov said Ukraine wanted 90,000 to 100,000 artillery rounds per month. "We need to move forward as soon as possible," he told reporters before the meeting.

But EU ministers and officials have been unable to say how much capacity Europe's defense industry has to provide the shells Ukraine needs.

Dutch Defense Minister Kajsa Ollongren said she had proposed that industry leaders join the March 20 meeting.

"We are talking a lot about industry. I suggested we should also talk with industry," she said.

Funding will also be a subject for further debate.

While Estonia said EU countries should provide fresh money for joint procurement, Borrell has proposed using cash already allocated to an EU-run fund, the European Peace Facility.

German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius said Wednesday's discussions about joint procurement were "right and necessary" but should not distract from the fact that it would take time for industry to ramp up capacity.

"We have to face the truth. Just because we all place more orders does not mean there is more ammunition. It has to be produced before it can be delivered," he said.



Danish PM Arrives in Greenland for Three-Day Visit amid Trump Pressure

Denmark's Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen, right, and her husband Bo Tengberg is greeted by Greenland's Acting Head of Government, Múte B. Egede after arriving at Nuuk airport, Greenland, Wednesday, April 2, 2025. (Ritzau Scanpix via AP)
Denmark's Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen, right, and her husband Bo Tengberg is greeted by Greenland's Acting Head of Government, Múte B. Egede after arriving at Nuuk airport, Greenland, Wednesday, April 2, 2025. (Ritzau Scanpix via AP)
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Danish PM Arrives in Greenland for Three-Day Visit amid Trump Pressure

Denmark's Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen, right, and her husband Bo Tengberg is greeted by Greenland's Acting Head of Government, Múte B. Egede after arriving at Nuuk airport, Greenland, Wednesday, April 2, 2025. (Ritzau Scanpix via AP)
Denmark's Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen, right, and her husband Bo Tengberg is greeted by Greenland's Acting Head of Government, Múte B. Egede after arriving at Nuuk airport, Greenland, Wednesday, April 2, 2025. (Ritzau Scanpix via AP)

Denmark's prime minister landed in Greenland on Wednesday for talks with the Danish semi-autonomous territory's incoming government, following US President Donald Trump's repeated expressions of interest in controlling the vast Arctic island.

Mette Frederiksen begins her three-day trip less than a week after a visit to the territory by US Vice President JD Vance received a frosty reception from authorities in Denmark and Greenland.

The Danish leader said ahead of her visit that she aims to strengthen Copenhagen's ties with the island and emphasized the importance of respectful cooperation amid what she described as "great pressure on Greenland".

Frederiksen was expected to speak to the media later on Wednesday.

Greenland's incoming Prime Minister Jens-Frederik Nielsen, who won last month's parliamentary election and will form a coalition government, has welcomed Frederiksen's trip, saying on Monday that Denmark remains "Greenland's closest partner".

Nielsen's new coalition is expected to formally take office on April 7.

Relations between Greenland and Denmark have been strained after revelations in recent years of historical mistreatment of Greenlanders under colonial rule. However, Trump's interest in controlling Greenland, part of a growing international focus on competition for influence in the Arctic, has prompted Denmark to hasten work to improve ties with the island.

Nielsen told Reuters late on Monday that Greenland would strengthen its ties with Denmark until it could fulfil its ultimate wish to become a sovereign nation.

'RESPECTFUL'

Meanwhile, Greenland wishes to establish a "respectful" relationship with the United States, he said.

"Talking about annexation and talking about acquiring Greenland and not respecting the sovereignty is not respectful. So let's start by being respectful to each other and build up a great partnership on everything," he said.

Frederiksen's visit is primarily about signaling support at a time of intense scrutiny, said Ulrik Pram Gad, an academic at the Danish Institute for International Studies.

"It is important for Denmark to signal to Greenland that Denmark is Greenland's closest friend and ally - and to the US that it stands behind Greenland," he said.

During his visit to a US military base in northern Greenland last Friday, Vance accused Denmark of not doing a good job of keeping the island safe and suggested the United States would better protect the strategically-located territory.

Frederiksen, who has said it is up to the people of Greenland to decide their own future, called Vance's description of Denmark "not fair".

Opinion polls show that a majority of Greenland's 57,000 inhabitants support independence from Denmark, but many oppose seeking independence too quickly, fearing their island could become worse off and expose itself to US interests.