BRUSSELS: European Union leaders will discuss the war in Ukraine with UN chief Antonio Guterres on Thursday and also endorse a plan to ramp up the supply of artillery shells to Kyiv.
Guterres will be a guest at an EU summit in Brussels, days after the renewal of a deal brokered by the UN and Turkiye on the safe export of Ukrainian grain through the Black Sea.
That humanitarian measure will discussed at a working lunch with Guterres before the UN secretary-general takes his leave and EU leaders get an update on the war from Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky via video link, officials said.
“We will, as always, reaffirm our unwavering commitment to assist Ukraine,” declared Charles Michel, president of the European Council of EU leaders.
The leaders will give their blessing to a plan — agreed by foreign ministers on Monday — to send 1 million artillery shells to Ukraine over the next year by digging into stocks and making a landmark move into joint procurement.
Zelensky’s government has told its Western allies that it urgently needs large amounts of 155mm shells as it fights a fierce war of attrition with invading Russian forces.
Officials have warned that Ukraine is burning through shells at a faster rate than its allies can produce them, prompting a renewed search for ammunition and ways to boost production.
The EU scheme is based on a plan from foreign policy chief Josep Borrell, following a proposal from Estonia, one of Ukraine’s most assertive supporters inside the EU.
The plan earmarks $1.09 billion (1 billion euros) for the swift supply of shells – and possibly missiles – from existing stocks and another 1 billion euros for joint orders by EU countries for more rounds.
The money will come from the European Peace Facility, an EU-run fund that has already provided billions of euros for military aid to Ukraine. Leaders at the summit may begin a discussion on a further top-up to the fund, diplomats said.
It is unclear how quickly the plan could have an impact on the battlefield, partly because governments keep secret how much ammunition they have left in their stockpiles, which have already been depleted by deliveries to Ukraine.
Artillery produced via a new joint procurement initiative will take months to arrive, although EU officials stress they are moving at unprecedented speed for such a project. They say they aim to sign first contracts with arms firms in late May.
“We will need to take measures to boost the manufacturing capacity of the European defense industry,” Michel said in his letter inviting fellow EU leaders to the summit.
EU leaders to discuss Ukraine war with UN chief, back ammunition plan
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EU leaders to discuss Ukraine war with UN chief, back ammunition plan
- Leaders to give their blessing to a plan to send 1 million artillery shells to Ukraine over the next year
- Officials have warned that Ukraine is burning through shells at a faster rate than its allies can produce them
EU leaders to reassess US ties despite Trump U-turn on Greenland
- Diplomats stressed that, although Thursday’s emergency EU talks in Brussels would now lose some of their urgency, the longer-term issue of how to handle the relationship with the US remained
BRUSSELS: EU leaders will rethink their ties with the US at an emergency summit on Thursday after Donald Trump’s threat of tariffs and even military action to acquire Greenland badly shook confidence in the transatlantic relationship, diplomats said.
Trump abruptly stepped back on Wednesday from his threat of tariffs on eight European nations, ruled out using force to take Greenland, a semi-autonomous territory of NATO ally Denmark, and suggested a deal was in sight to end the dispute.
German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, welcoming Trump’s U-turn on Greenland, urged Europeans not to be too quick to write off the transatlantic partnership.
But EU governments remain wary of another change of mind by a mercurial president who is increasingly seen as a bully that Europe will have to stand up to, and they are focused on coming up with a longer-term plan on how to deal with the United States under this administration and possibly its successors too.
“Trump crossed the Rubicon. He might do it again. There is no going back to what it was. And leaders will discuss it,” one EU diplomat said, adding that the bloc needed to move away from its heavy reliance on the US in many areas.
“We need to try to keep him (Trump) close while working on becoming more independent from the US It is a process, probably a long one,” the diplomat said.
EU RELIANCE ON US
After decades of relying on the United States for defense within the NATO alliance, the EU lacks the needed intelligence, transport, missile defense and production capabilities to defend itself against a possible Russian attack. This gives the US substantial leverage.
The US is also Europe’s biggest trading partner, making the EU vulnerable to Trump’s policies of imposing tariffs to reduce Washington’s trade deficit in goods, and, as in the case of Greenland, to achieve other goals.
“We need to discuss where the red lines are, how we deal with this bully across the Atlantic, where our strengths are,” a second EU diplomat said.
“Trump says no tariffs today, but does that mean also no tariffs tomorrow, or will he again quickly change his mind? We need to discuss what to do then,” the second diplomat said.
The EU had been considering a package of retaliatory tariffs on 93 billion euros ($108.74 billion) on US imports or anti-coercive measures if Trump had gone ahead with his own tariffs, while knowing such a step would harm Europe’s economy as well as the United States.
WHAT’S THE GREENLAND DEAL?
Several diplomats noted there were still few details of the new plan for Greenland, agreed between Trump and NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte late on Wednesday on the sidelines of the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland.
“Nothing much changed. We still need to see details of the Greenland deal. We are a bit fed up with all the bullying. And we need to act on a few things: more resiliency, unity, get our things together on internal market, competitiveness. And no more accepting tariff bullying,” a third diplomat said.
Rutte told Reuters in an interview in Davos on Thursday that under the framework deal he reached with Trump the Western allies would have to step up their presence in the Arctic.
He also said talks would continue between Denmark, Greenland and the US on specific issues.
Diplomats stressed that, although Thursday’s emergency EU talks in Brussels would now lose some of their urgency, the longer-term issue of how to handle the relationship with the US remained.
“The approach of a united front in solidarity with Denmark and Greenland while focusing on de-escalation and finding an off-ramp has worked,” a fourth EU diplomat said.
“At the same time it would be good to reflect on the state of the relationship and how we want to shape this going forward, given the experiences of the past week (and year),” he said.
