French President Emmanuel Macron has expressed serious doubts about the European Commission's proposal to build a “drone wall“ on the EU's eastern borders, Politico quoted him as saying, News.bg reports.
“I am careful with such terms - the issue is more complex and requires a deeper approach“, Macron told reporters on Wednesday ahead of a meeting of EU leaders in Copenhagen, underlining his priorities in the field of defense.
“We need advanced early warning systems that allow us to anticipate threats. We need to develop European long-range fire defense capabilities, as well as increase the availability of air defense and anti-drone systems“, he added.
In recent weeks, drones have entered the airspace of Poland, Romania, Denmark and Norway. European leaders have blamed Russia for the incidents, which has fueled a pan-European defence initiative proposed by border states and backed by European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen.
However, scepticism is not limited to Paris. German Defence Minister Boris Pistorius recently said in Warsaw that defence against drones was needed, "but not with a wall of drones", while stressing other urgent priorities.
The debate reveals a clear divide between the "frontline" countries, close to Russia and Ukraine, and the rest of the EU. The leaders of Latvia and Lithuania have backed the project, while Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni has warned against neglecting Europe's southern flank, a message echoed by Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis.
“Any common European defense project cannot be limited to the continent's eastern borders,“ Mitsotakis told reporters.
Macron suggested Europeans focus on jointly developing early warning systems, with France and Germany already working on this, building up indigenous deep-strike deterrent capabilities, including ballistic missiles, and investing in more air defense systems.
The “drone wall“ remains one of four key defense projects proposed by Brussels ahead of the European Council.