EU Commission to Discuss Defense Strategy with NATO Chief Rutte
The meeting of the College of the European Commission on Tuesday, September 30, in Brussels will be dedicated to security issues and will take place with the participation of NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte.
The Gaze reports this, referring to European Pravda and Bloomberg.
“Tomorrow morning there will be a meeting of the College of the European Commission on security issues, in which NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte will take part,” the European Pravda interlocutor said.
He specified that European commissioners, in particular, will discuss plans regarding the EU’s defense strategy “Readiness 2030.”
The talks come just ahead of an EU leaders’ summit in Copenhagen on October 1, where Ukraine and defense cooperation are expected to dominate the agenda.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy is due to address leaders via video link, before joining the October 2 European Political Community summit in person.
According to documents seen by Bloomberg, EU leaders will also debate two flagship projects designed to strengthen the continent’s resilience: a pan-European “drone wall” and a coordinated air-defense shield.
The drone wall project would pool Ukraine’s battlefield experience with the technological capacities of European research institutions and startups, while the Eastern Flank Monitoring initiative would integrate counter-drone systems, missile defense, and even maritime and space assets to guard against hybrid threats, including cyberattacks and sabotage.
The EU plans to tap its €150 billion SAFE credit fund to finance the initiatives, with member states expected to submit participation requests by the end of November. Talks are underway to involve the United Kingdom and Canada, with Japan and India also considered as potential future partners. Germany has already signaled readiness to lead efforts on missile defense.
The urgency of the projects has been underscored by repeated drone incursions and Russian aircraft violating allied airspace. “Russia is testing the EU and NATO. Our response must be firm, united, and immediate,” said EU Defense Commissioner Andrius Kubilius.
As The Gaze reported earlier, European diplomats delivered a private warning to Moscow that NATO is prepared to respond more forcefully to future airspace violations by Russian military aircraft, including the possibility of shooting them down.