Several European Union countries expect an agreement on Monday to cooperate on the purchase of artillery shells for Ukraine as part of efforts to speed up and increase supplies of the artillery, which Kiev says it desperately needs.
A senior EU official said many of the bloc’s 27 countries are expected to sign the so-called project arrangement, which sets out the terms of reference for the plan, but it was not clear how many because some were still studying the proposal.
Officials said that the joint agreement for the purchase of 155 mm artillery shells will be signed on the sidelines of a meeting of European Union foreign and defense ministers in the Belgian capital, Brussels, on Monday. The first applications under the plan can be submitted by the end of next May.
“This arrangement was put in place very, very quickly,” said the senior European official, who spoke on condition of anonymity. All member states (of the European Union) and Norway can participate in it.”
Ukraine said it was in dire need of 155 mm shells.
Ukrainian and Western leaders have warned in recent weeks that Kiev is consuming shells faster than its allies can produce, prompting renewed efforts to send supplies and look for ways to boost production.
The European Union’s defense agency will lead the project, which will be launched on Monday.
The initiative is part of a plan presented by European Union foreign policy chief Josep Borrell to allocate 1 billion euros ($1.07 billion) in compensation to EU countries for sending missiles from their stocks to Ukraine and another 1 billion euros for joint purchases.
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