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The European Commission has reaffirmed its intention to build a drone defence system along the bloc’s eastern flank to deter Russia from violating common airspace and respond rapidly to any such incursions.
In less than one month, Russian aircraft have violated the airspace of three member states – Poland, Romania and Estonia – putting the continent on high alert. The acts coincide with intensifying barrages on Ukrainian civilians.
On Monday, two to three large drones were spotted at Copenhagen Airport, prompting a shutdown in operations for nearly four hours. The airport later reopened but warned of delays and cancelled departures. Norway’s Oslo Airport was also disrupted.
Police said they refrained from shooting down the aircraft because the risk was too great, given the airport was at full capacity and planes were stationed near fuel depots.
Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen called the incident “the most serious attack on Danish critical infrastructure to date” and said she could not rule out Russian involvement.
On Tuesday, the Commission built on the events to call for the drone wall, a novel initiative first unveiled by President Ursula von der Leyen in her State of the EU speech.
“For those who still doubted the need to have a drone wall in the European Union, well, here we get another example of how important it is,” said Thomas Regnier, the Commission’s spokesperson for defence policy.
“The latest attacks in Romania, in Poland, in Estonia, now in Denmark, four member states have been targeted. This is precisely why we will be working on this drone wall.”
The project will bring together seven member states on the eastern flank: Estonia, Latvia. Finland, Lithuania, Poland, Romania and Bulgaria, together with Ukraine, which has developed a technological edge on drone manufacturing during the war.
Denmark has now joined the initiative, Regnier announced.
By contrast, Hungary and Slovakia, which share a border with Ukraine, are not part of the project. Brussels has said the discussions could be expanded at a later stage.
The first meeting is scheduled to take place on Friday between national representatives and Andrius Kubilius, the European Commissioner for defence. The talks are supposed to shed light on existing capabilities, military gaps and financial needs.
‘Russia is testing the European borders’
It remains unclear how the drone wall might work in practice and what costs it might incur. The project is meant to focus on both detection and intervention.
The Commission is rolling out a €150 billion loan programme to boost defence spending, which could be mobilised to promote domestic production of drones, Regnier explained. Poland is the largest recipient, with almost €44 billion tentatively allocated.
“Technical work is ongoing. Reflection is also ongoing. We will not take the decision ourselves. Member states are in the driving seat,” the spokesperson told reporters.
“The two main factors that the Commission is asking itself, of course, are: one side is the detection of incoming drones, and then the second element, which is fully linked to that, is how to respond then once we detect one.”
Regnier did not specify the launch date of the drone wall but noted: “Recent events show that we cannot sit here and wait for things to happen before we need to act.”
Meanwhile, Anitta Hipper, the Commission’s spokesperson for foreign affairs, said the previous incursions into Polish, Romanian and Estonian airspace suggest that Russia might also be behind the incident at the Copenhagen airport.
“We still need to wait for the final outcome (of the investigation), but what we have seen throughout the last weeks points out to Russia in terms of their reckless actions in at least three member states,” Hipper said.
“Here, we see a clear pattern: Russia is testing the European borders, also probing our resolve and undermining our security throughout.”
Separately on Tuesday, NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte cautioned it was “too early” to determine who was behind the incident in Copenhagen.
“We do not want to see a continuation of this dangerous pattern by Russia, intentional or not, but we stand ready and willing to continue to defend every inch of allied territory,” he said in a press conference.
The drone wall responds to Europe’s profound rethink of defence policy caused by Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine and the re-election of President Donald Trump, who has said the US would no longer be the primary guarantor of European security.
