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
Asylum applications drop to 40-year low in Sweden
- Asylum seekers and their family members accounted for just 6 percent of the total, compared with 31 percent in 2018, when total immigration was 133,000
STOCKHOLM: The number of people applying for asylum in Sweden dropped by 30 percent in 2025 to the lowest level since 1985, with the right-of-center government saying it planned to further tighten rules this year ahead of an election in September.
The ruling minority coalition, which is supported by the anti-immigration Sweden Democrats, has made cutting the number of asylum seekers a key policy platform since taking power in 2022. It blames a surge in gang crime on decades of loose asylum laws and failed integration measures under previous Social Democrat-led governments.
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The Swedish government has cracked down on asylum seekers, made it more difficult to gain residency and citizenship, and introduced financial incentives for immigrants to leave the country.
“The change is not just about numbers in terms of lower immigration, it’s also about the way that’s made up, who is coming to Sweden with the proportion from asylum at a record low,” said Immigration Minister Johan Forssell.
The number of immigrants, excluding refugees from Ukraine, fell to 79,684 last year from 82,857 in 2024, according to figures from the Migration Board.
Asylum seekers and their family members accounted for just 6 percent of the total, compared with 31 percent in 2018, when total immigration was 133,000.
The number of people either voluntarily returning to another country or being expelled by authorities was also up.
“This is an area which is a high priority for us,” Forssell said.
The government has cracked down on asylum seekers, made it more difficult to gain residency and citizenship, and introduced financial incentives for immigrants to leave the country since it came to power.
Forssell said the government planned to further tighten regulations in the coming year, including a new law to increase the number of returnees and stricter citizenship rules, among other measures.
Swedes will vote in what is expected to be a tight general election in September.
Meanwhile, Denmark’s strict immigration policies drove asylum admissions to a historic low in 2025, with 839 requests granted by the end of November, the government said.
“It is absolutely critical that as few foreigners as possible come to Denmark and obtain asylum. My main priority is to limit the influx of refugees,” said Immigration Minister Rasmus Stoklund in a press release.
According to the ministry, “there have been very few years when the annual total remained below 1,000 ... 2025 will be a year with a historically low number of residence permits granted on asylum grounds.”
Denmark registered 1,835 asylum requests by November 2025.
The country’s immigration approach has been influenced by far-right parties for more than 20 years, and Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen, leader of the Social Democrats, has pursued a “zero refugee” policy since taking office in 2019.
Copenhagen has, over the years, implemented a slew of initiatives to discourage migrants and make Danish citizenship harder to obtain.
In 2024, the country of 6 million people accepted some 860 of the 2,333 asylum requests lodged that year.
