European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen wants the EU to help front-line countries monitor and defend their borders against potential Russian aggression — backing a long-standing request from Poland and Baltic nations.
“There is no doubt: Europe’s eastern flank keeps all of Europe safe. From the Baltic Sea to the Black Sea. This is why we must invest in supporting it through an Eastern Flank Watch,” she told European lawmakers in her State of the Union address Wednesday morning.
“This means giving Europe independent strategic capabilities. We must invest in real-time space surveillance so that no movement of forces goes unseen. We must heed the call of our Baltic friends and build a drone wall,” the German politician added.
Von der Leyen’s comments came only a few hours after Poland scrambled fighter jets to shoot down Russian drones that entered its airspace. Back in June, Romania also sent warplanes to monitor Russian drones approaching its border.
Wednesday’s incident over Poland has been perceived by Western allies as a way for Russian President Vladimir Putin to test NATO’s defenses.
Front-line countries — especially Poland, Estonia and Lithuania — have long called for the EU to contribute financially to the defense of their borders. They argue their efforts will protect the bloc as a whole against any attack from Russia, as military and intelligence top brass have warned in the past that Putin could target Baltic nations or Poland to test NATO’s mettle.
They have successfully pushed for money from the EU’s loans-for-weapons SAFE scheme to be easily available for items including drones and anti-drone systems.
Warsaw launched a project last year dubbed East Shield that aims to strengthen the Polish border with Russia and Belarus, while Baltic nations are starting to teach children to build and fly drones. Countries such as Lithuania are also behind the idea of a “drone wall,” which they see as a permanent presence of unmanned aerial vehicles on their borders to monitor threats.
A few days before giving her State of the Union address, von der Leyen went on a front-line state tour that took her to countries including Finland, Estonia, Lithuania, Latvia and Poland.
“Last week, I saw this for myself when I visited front-line member states. They know best the threat Russia poses,” she told European lawmakers on Wednesday.
Von der Leyen also announced the EU will enter into a so-called Drone Alliance with Ukraine and front-load €6 billion from the G7-led Extraordinary Revenue Acceleration (ERA).
Russia’s war in Ukraine has highlighted the importance of drones in warfare — they can be used for surveillance purposes and as lethal weapons to reach remote or dangerous areas. Ukraine is widely perceived as being innovative with the technology, namely through the use of AI and automation.
Von der Leyen gave few details about the defense road map she has to present to EU leaders in October, but did say she wants to launch a so-called European Semester of Defence to monitor capitals’ progress in military buildup.
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