The European Union needs a mechanism akin to NATO’s to enhance its responsiveness to incidents involving drones, acts of sabotage, and cyberattacks within Europe, many of which have been attributed to Russia.
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen made this assertion on Wednesday. Recently, officials from Germany, Denmark, and Poland have alleged Russian involvement in various incidents, including drone incursions, sabotage, arson, and surveillance of defence facilities. Additionally, there are concerns regarding plans to employ a drone loaded with explosives to target an airport.
“Europe needs its own counter-hybrid playbook. We urgently need a consensus on how to respond to certain incidents,” von der Leyen said, particularly for acts that “fall below armed aggression but clearly threaten our national security.”
Italian fighter jets, operating under NATO’s framework, intercepted a drone over Lithuania earlier this week, marking the first such event in the airspace of an EU member state. The drone is believed to have entered from Belarus, a Russian ally. However, both the European Union and NATO face the challenge of formulating appropriate responses to actions that do not rise to outright aggression.
President von der Leyen suggested that the proposed framework should resemble Article 4 of NATO’s founding treaty, which permits member countries that perceive a threat to their territory to convene emergency meetings. This provision is independent of Article 5, which establishes a collective security obligation for member states to support an ally under attack.
“When triggered by one member state, all member states would convene to coordinate a European response, to deter further escalation, and to mitigate the impact,” she said.
Furthermore, von der Leyen said the European Commission will outline proposals to establish a European Security Council, including collaboration with international partners such as the United Kingdom, Canada, Norway, and Ukraine. Specific details regarding this initiative have yet to be disclosed.
This article used information from The Associated Press.
