Seven EU member states - Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Finland, Poland, Romania, and Bulgaria - will soon discuss a new and urgent initiative - the creation of a "drone wall" - with the European Commission and Ukraine. According to European Commission spokesperson Thomas Renee, an online meeting on this matter will take place on September 26th.
As the European Commission official noted, in recent months, threats related to Russia have sharply increased in the territories of some EU countries. "Attacks and air intrusions have already occurred on the territory of Romania and Poland," Rene noted. Therefore, European countries emphasize the need to take additional measures to ensure security.
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen also recently addressed the European Parliament, stating that the EU will continue to provide military and strategic assistance to Ukraine. According to him, "Ukraine must use its intelligence to achieve superiority on the battlefield and in joint industrialization." For this purpose, the European Union is expected to launch the "drone alliance" initiative, and 6 billion euros will be allocated for its financing.
According to von der Leyen, the EU must respond to the calls of its Baltic partners to strengthen its eastern borders. It is expected that he will reconsider the issue of financing the "drone wall" at the informal summit of EU leaders in Copenhagen on October 1.
The main reason for the escalation of tension is cited as the situation that occurred on September 19: three Russian military aircraft broke into Estonian airspace and were intercepted by Italian F-35 fighters. This once again demonstrated the need for new measures in the EU's security policy. At the same time, in the same month, Poland also reported that Russian drones violated its borders.
Lithuania also recalled that the European Commission rejected the joint project of Tallinn and Vilnius for 12 million euros in the summer. However, Russia's subsequent actions further demonstrate the urgency of this initiative.
The new consultations between the EU and Ukraine are expected to be an important step not only in the field of security, but also in the overall strategic partnership.
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