Borrell: Joint EU arms plan will work but Kyiv needs help now

European Union foreign policy chief Josep Borrell on Sunday backed a call for the bloc’s members to buy arms jointly to help Ukraine but warned it would not solve Kyiv’s urgent need for more ammunition now.
Borrell was responding to an Estonian proposal for the EU to place large ammunition orders on behalf of multiple member states to speed up procurement and encourage European arms firms to invest in increasing their production capacities.
EU officials and diplomats say they are urgently exploring the possibility of joint procurement of 155 millimetre artillery shells to help Kyiv defend itself against Russia. EU foreign ministers are expected to discuss the Estonian plan in Brussels on Monday.
In a panel discussion with Estonian Prime Minister Kaja Kallas in Munich on Sunday, Borrell said: “I completely agree with the Estonian prime minister’s proposal, we are working on that and it will work.”
But in a speech before the discussion, Borrell said joint procurement could only bear fruit in the medium term. Right now, Ukraine’s supporters must quickly send supplies from existing stocks, he said.