Remarks by Executive Vice-President Virkkunen and Commissioners Brunner and Tzitzikostas on the action plan on drone security and counter-drone security

Executive Vice-President Virkkunen

Today, we are presenting an EU Action Plan on Drone and Counter Drone Security. I want to start by thanking my colleagues for the excellent cooperation. 

The fact that you have us three on the podium today, it shows that we are putting forward a comprehensive, integrated and cross sectoral initiative. Because security does not grow in siloes.

Europe's security environment has changed profoundly. Everything can be weaponised against us and Europe needs more than ever to act united and be prepared.

The use of drones in the war in Ukraine has changed the nature of warfare, but they have also been used in hybrid attacks against the critical infrastructure in our Member States.

Drones have been used in violation of Member States' airspace, they have disrupted airport operations and caused near-misses with civilian aircraft.

In fact, these malicious or irresponsible use of drones affect the protection of critical infrastructure, external borders, ports, transport hubs and public spaces, including densely populated areas, as well as maritime safety and energy security.

These threats directly affect the security of our citizens, disrupt our economy and have also a strong impact on public perception.

An effective response requires a comprehensive, coordinated and targeted approach, bringing together the civil and military dimensions.

This Action Plan is an ambitious response to the calls from Member States and the European Parliament to develop a united approach. It is designed to support Member States through coordinated action and to complement national measures, reinforcing effective response.

Because Europe must respond firmly and with unity. A threat against a Member State is a threat against the Union as a whole.

The Action plan is all about enhancing our preparedness, boosting our detection capacities as well as stepping up our collective responses and strengthening our defence readiness. 

Let me say a few words of each dimension before my colleagues go more into details.

The first line of action is to be prepared. We must strengthen resilience and preparedness by:

• Supporting innovation and a massive ramp-up of industrial capacities. This is about focusing money where it matters, deploying agile testing centres, working on interoperability and directly supporting industrial projects.
• We will expand the industrial engagement notably by launching a Drone and Counter Drone Industrial Forum -the ‘D-TECT Forum'.
• We must also adapt the rules for airborne drones' operations to the new security realities through a Drone Security Package, so that drones can be identified and tracked. I will leave Commissioner Tzitzikostas to explain in more details.
•  We will also work towards a coordinated risk assessment of drone and counter drone ICT supply chains with a view to establish, together with Member states, a Drone Security Toolbox.
• We are urging Member States to transpose and implement the CER Directive. Commissioner Brunner will say more about this.

For Lithuania, and all the Member States facing hybrid attacks from meteorological balloons launched from outside the EU territory, we will launch a mission driven call for interest to the private sector, especially start ups to propose new innovative solutions.

The second line of action is about detecting and tracking the malicious drone activities.

The use of our 5G infrastructure for detection of drones must be urgently leveraged. Drones connected to a 5G network should be rapidly identified, tracked and disrupted if malicious.

Drones not connected can be detected through the urgent deployment of cellular sensing, turning 5G antennas into a distributed radar capacity in a given area or across a country, leveraging the computing capacity of core networks at the edge, and AI powered software.

I am describing existing technology that we need now to deploy. We have the advantage in Europe to be able to rely on home grown telecommunication suppliers.

The potential is immense for both internal security and defence applications.

To that end, I am calling Member States and industry to test and deploy on a large scale these cellular based detections technologies. The Commission will launch a Call for Expression of interest.     

Third, we need to support our Member States to respond to these threats in a coordinated and united way. We are calling member states to appoint national coordinators.

We will support a large-scale counter drone deployment initiative leveraging joint procurement and working towards the development of European sovereign Command and Control software capacities for civilian and military use.

We also want to explore with Member States the creation of Rapid EU counter drone reaction teams who would stand ready to assist the member states in need.

Finally, all those actions are designed to support and enhance ongoing defence initiatives on drones ran by Member States.

Under the leadership of Commissioner Kubilius, the Commission will enhance its support to the Priority Capability Coalition on drone and counter drone, as well as the European Defence Drone Initiative with Ukraine, leveraging the EU defence instrument.

Investments in drone and counter drone systems are already on-going.

Finally, cooperation with Ukraine will be central in this action plan. In addition, this action plan will open dedicated cooperation opportunities with other partners who share similar security interests. 

Strong EU-Nato cooperation will remain essential for the rapid delivery of this action plan.

This Action Plan is not a statement of intent. It is a tool for action. It is designed to cut across silos: civilian and military, national and European, public and private.

Security today demands coordination across sectors, across authorities, and across borders.

I will now engage with Member States and industry to drive implementation and to launch concrete next steps.

***

Commissioner Brunner

Drones bring enormous economic benefits:

• They support innovation, jobs and competitiveness;
• They deliver medicines, assist emergency services, improve; logistics, and even redefine creative industries like film.

They also strengthen security significantly:

• From saving lives in the Mediterranean;
• To preventing the weaponisation of migrants on our Eastern borders;
• To stopping drugs from entering the EU unnoticed.

Beyond civilian use, they have transformed modern warfare.

Drones are embedded in our economies, our security, and our societies.

But the same technology can also be misused. With low cost and high impact.

To disrupt critical infrastructure, causing major economic damage and public anxiety. In the last three months alone, airports and military sites across Europe have been disrupted:

• Berlin, Munich, Brussels, Liège, Antwerp, Gothenburg, Copenhagen, Oslo, Dublin – and others.

By hostile state actors, especially on our Eastern border.

By terrorists, for chemical or explosive attacks on mass events or public spaces, like the ISIS manuals that were spread before the Paris Olympics; or the attack targeting the Belgian Prime Minister.

By organised criminal groups, for cross-border smuggling, where the Spanish police intercepted drones carrying 200 kg of drugs (in 2025).

Bottom line: The threat is real, it is evolving, and it crosses borders.

To counter the threat, we need more than one arrow in our quiver. This is exactly what today's action plan does:

• Investing our resources more effectively;
• Innovating to use the many benefits of this technology; and
• Interconnecting our activities in different policy areas and across Member States.

This year, we are mobilising €400 million (from the BMVI) to support Member States to buy drone and counter-drone technology.

• €150 million will fund aerial surveillance drones used by Member States and Frontex in joint operations.
• €250 million will support Member States to directly purchase drones and counter-drone systems.

Drone technology is evolving at extraordinary speed. Commercial drones already carry 15 kilos and fly 100 kilometres.
 Staying ahead is essential – and it is also a matter of competitiveness.

• Therefore, we will launch a new Counter-Drone Centre of Excellence in 2027.
• We will pool our public financing for innovation, so industry can scale up faster and deliver solutions sooner.

Today, we are announcing a new EU Drone Incident Platform. It will allow authorities to detect and respond faster to unusual activity.
We are strengthening the protection of Europe's critical infrastructure, where the threat is largest.

• Just as an example: Vienna's main public utilities company has recorded more than 1,300 illegal drone overflights in 3 months.
• Our rules on critical infrastructure from 2022 (Critical Entities Resilience Directive) provide rules on how to counter drone threats. 
• And now, we will provide clear EU-level guidance specifically on countering drone threats. We must put them to use in all Member States.
• And the time is right to discuss the use of geofencing technologies, enforcing clear no-fly zones in sensitive locations.

Too often have we been too slow, and too surprised by drones as a threat. We must work together to use drones as a strategic advantage. Because we have the technology and the resources to do so.
Today's plan puts this approach into action.

***

Commissioner Tzitzikostas

Well, as you all know, the European Union was the first in the world to regulate drones.

And we did so because we saw the enormous potential, for our economy, for innovation and for society as a whole.

And that position has not changed.

But the world around us has changed.

And today, drones are increasingly used to disrupt.

Airports have become regular targets.

In November last year alone, Brussels airport was forced to cancel dozens of flights, because of hostile drone activity.  

And these incidents have exposed real gaps in aviation safety, and in the protection of our critical infrastructure: our borders, as Commissioner Brunner said, transport hubs, energy systems, public spaces.

This is recklessness in the extreme.

Hostile drone use has already cost Europe time and money.

And we are all determined to avoid a future in which it costs lives as well.

So we must also confront another reality: drones are being used for espionage by hostile actors.

This growing misuse is beginning to affect public trust.

And that is deeply regrettable, because across Europe, drones are delivering real and tangible benefits.

In transport alone, drones are already delivering medical supplies, they are monitoring ports, inspecting infrastructure, detecting oil spills, tracking floating waste, and identifying potential security breaches.

These are just some examples, but believe me, there are many more.

When used correctly, drones are safe, sustainable and efficient.

They can strengthen our resilience and give Europe, a real competitive edge.

And no action of those who wish Europe harm can change that perspective.

But we are fortunate here in Europe: we already have a strong regulatory foundation for drones.

And the Action Plan for drone and counter-drone security builds on our EU Drone Strategy 2.0 to make Europe more resilient against malicious drone use.

Now today I want to focus on three concrete actions that I am advancing with my team: a Drone Security Package, an improved definition of geographical zones, and an EU Trusted Drone Label.

First, the Drone Security Package.

My aim is to have this ready after the summer and its purpose is very very clear: to strengthen identification and accountability for drone operators and pilots.

We already regulate larger drones.

But our proposal later this year, will address compliance gaps, particularly for small, camera-equipped drones.

From a security perspective these gaps are indeed problematic.

Even very small drones can pose serious risks if they are misused.

This is why our proposal will improve legal clarity and introduce technical safeguards, ensuring that drones cannot leave the ground unless the operator is identified.

Second, the geographical zones.

Our work here will make information on airspace constraints clearer, standardised and easier to access.

It will also prepare the ground for future geofencing.

This should be understood as a safeguard, one that helps drone operators avoid entering sensitive or high-risk areas unintentionally, and this happens very often.

As traffic density increases and automation advances, this will become increasingly important.

Third, the EU Trusted Drone Label.

This initiative is about confidence.

Confidence in civil drones.

Here we will say more towards the end of the year, when I present our proposal.

But I can already be very clear: the Label will complement existing aviation and cybersecurity legislation.

We are not creating a parallel certification scheme.

We have outlined what we are doing from a security perspective.

This year we will also carry out a progress review of our Drone Strategy 2.0.

As I said at the beginning the world has changed.

And we must ensure that our framework remains fit for purpose, whether adjustments are needed to further improve safety, security and competitiveness.

The Plan that we are presenting today is action-oriented and time-sensitive.

It prioritises measures that can deliver short-term impact, while laying the ground for longer-term preparedness.

And both, as you know very well, matter very much.

The immediate risks are very clear, but we also know that threats will continue to evolve.

Finally, public acceptance for drones matters deeply to me, matters deeply to this Commission.

The actions we have outlined today, are designed to build that acceptance.

Because acceptance is a precondition for scaling-up legitimate drone operations, and there are many legitimate drone operations today in the real world.

This is the future, and we want Europe to be secure, safe, innovative and confident in the technology it leads.