By Andrew Gray and Jacob Gronholt-Pedersen
COPENHAGEN (Reuters) -European Union leaders will discuss proposals for a “drone wall” to protect the continent at a summit on Wednesday in Copenhagen, just days after airspace intrusions by unidentified unmanned aircraft forced a temporary closure of Danish airports.
The summit will also be the first opportunity for leaders of the EU’s 27 countries to debate a proposal to use Russian assets frozen in Europe to fund a loan of 140 billion euros ($164.37 billion) to Ukraine.
France, Germany, Sweden, Norway, the Netherlands, Britain, Finland and Ukraine have committed troops and anti-drone systems to help Denmark protect the leaders, many of whom have accused Russia of brazen violations of European airspace with recent incursions by drones over Poland and fighter jets over Estonia.
Denmark has stopped short of saying who it believes is responsible for the incidents in its airspace last week, which disrupted air traffic at six airports, but Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen has suggested it could be Moscow.
Russia has denied responsibility for the drones over Denmark, disputed that its fighter jets entered Estonian airspace and said it did not intend to send drones into Poland.
But the incidents prompted European leaders to step up calls to bolster the continent’s defences and boost support for Ukraine in its fight against Russia’s invasion. U.S. President Donald Trump has demanded the EU take more responsibility on both fronts.
At the summit, the leaders will discuss proposals for four flagship defence projects including a “drone wall” – a network of sensors and weapons to detect, track and neutralise intruding unmanned aircraft.
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen floated the idea last month, just hours after some 20 Russian drones entered Polish airspace, although officials say it had been in the works before then.
The Commission, the EU’s executive body, has not yet produced a detailed plan, leaving open questions about the cost and practicalities. But NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte praised the idea on Tuesday as “timely and necessary”.
The incursion into Poland exposed gaps in Europe’s ability to defend against drones, officials and analysts said. NATO forces deployed fighter jets, helicopters and a Patriot air defence system in their response, shooting down several drones.
“We cannot spend millions of euros or dollars on missiles to take out drones, which only cost a couple of thousand dollars,” Rutte said.
COMMISSION FLOATS FROZEN ASSETS PLAN
European leaders have vowed to turn up pressure on Moscow, including through a proposed 19th package of EU sanctions that would phase out Russian liquefied natural gas imports by the start of 2027.
The European Commission last week proposed using Russian funds frozen due to sanctions to finance a “Reparation Loan” that would bolster Kyiv’s war effort just as U.S.-funded military aid dwindles.
“We are at a moment where decisive action on our side can lead to a turning point in this conflict,” von der Leyen said on Tuesday.
Under the Commission’s plan, Kyiv would pay back the loan if Russia paid reparations to Ukraine for the war. But European officials say the plan raises complex legal and technical questions that have yet to be clarified.
German Chancellor Friedrich Merz voiced support last week for the general concept of using the frozen funds for a loan to Ukraine.
But Belgian Prime Minister Bart De Wever, whose country holds most of the assets in the Euroclear securities depository, sounded a strong note of caution.
“If countries see that central bank money can disappear if European politicians see fit, they might decide to withdraw their reserves from the euro zone,” he said last week, according to Belgian news agency Belga.
($1 = 0.8517 euros)
(Reporting by Andrew Gray, Jacob Gronholt-Pedersen, Soren Sirich Jeppesen and Tom Little; Writing by Andrew Gray; Editing by Jamie Freed)
