Norway and 17 EU countries on Monday agreed to the joint purchase of ammunition for Ukraine, according to a press release from the European Defense Agency (EDA).

"With today's signature, 18 countries have signed up to aggregate orders and place them together with the industry through the European Defence Agency," according to the document.

In addition to Norway, the initiative was joined by Austria, Belgium, Croatia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Luxembourg, Malta, the Netherlands, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia and Sweden. EDA said other states plan to become participants in the project soon.

The initiative provides an opportunity for 18 countries to acquire 155mm artillery rounds within two years under an accelerated procedure; and also provides for the purchase over the next seven years of various types and calibers of ammunition – from 5.56 mm to 155 mm.

Earlier on Monday, Estonian Defense Minister Hanno Pevkur said after the joint meeting of EU foreign ministers and defense ministers that the bloc states were able to reach an agreement to supply Ukraine with 1 million artillery shells over the next 12 months.

According to Western media, the plan agreed by the ministers is based on a proposal by EU diplomat Josep Borrell.

This is about urgent deliveries of ammunition from the warehouses of the EU countries with the allocation of compensation to them up to EUR 1 billion from the European Peace Facility, about combining the possibilities of member states for joint purchases of ammunition in order to replenish depleted reserves and for further assistance to Kiev, as well as to increase the capacity of the European defense industry in order to be able to meet the demand of the armed forces of both Ukraine and the European Union itself.

On Monday, in Brussels, the plan must be approved by the heads of the Foreign and Defense Ministries, in order to then present it to the attention of European leaders on March 23 and 24.