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- Unmanned project: the Russian Foreign Ministry explained the benefits of the "drone wall" for the EU
Unmanned project: the Russian Foreign Ministry explained the benefits of the "drone wall" for the EU
EU countries that consider themselves "frontline" are using the Drone Walls project to attract attention and additional resources. This was stated to Izvestia by Vladislav Maslennikov, Director of the Department of European Problems at the Russian Foreign Ministry. The diplomat emphasizes that the European Commission also benefits.: For her, the drone initiative is an excuse to additionally load the military—industrial complex with orders, as well as a PR campaign designed to confirm the correctness of the course towards the accelerated militarization of the EU. The European Parliament points to the waste of money in the context of the economic problems faced by the union. At the same time, disagreements are intensifying in the EU over the implementation and financing of the "drone wall".
New discussions about the "drone wall"
The Wall of Drones project is being actively discussed in the European Union. The initiative promoted by the European Commission (EC) became one of the topics of the hearings in the European Parliament held on October 8. The EC proposes to include the wall in the EU's militarization program for the next five years. According to the head of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, drones will be used, among other things, to monitor tankers, which in Brussels belong to the "Russian shadow fleet" transporting oil.
The idea of a "drone wall" is warmly supported in Poland, Finland and the Baltic States. Estonia promises to develop its site by the end of 2027, and to implement the first components of the system next year. Lithuanian President Gitanas Nauseda considers it possible to complete the first stage of the project by 2028. At the same time, the Baltic capitals are counting on financial assistance from Brussels.
"It is obvious that countries that position themselves as "frontline" countries use every opportunity to attract attention and resources," Vladislav Maslennikov, director of the Department of European Affairs at the Russian Foreign Ministry, told Izvestia. — As for the European Commission, for it, the "drone wall", in addition to the reason to load the European military—industrial complex with additional orders, is also another PR campaign designed to confirm the correctness of the course taken towards the accelerated militarization of the European Union.
It is not known how much the "drone wall" will cost: the European Commission does not even disclose an approximate figure. According to experts, the total cost of the project may reach €7 billion. To save money, NATO is considering the possibility of using laser systems and cheap interceptor drones, Bloomberg writes. It is clear that the project is being developed against the background of the unresolved Ukrainian crisis and as an element of a hybrid war with Russia. However, it is unclear what European countries will do if the conflict ends.
— Any defense systems are extremely conservative and long—term, and finding the means and capabilities for certain systems is not an easy and very costly task. It would hardly be realistic to expect that after their deployment, the UES would back off," Vladislav Maslennikov believes.
The idea of a "drone wall" originated last year. They remembered her after the incident with drones in the skies over Poland on September 10. Warsaw blamed Moscow for the incident, but did not provide any concrete evidence. As the official representative of the Russian Foreign Ministry, Maria Zakharova, noted, Poland uses the drone incident and refuses to cooperate with Moscow to unleash anti-Russian hysteria.
After the story with Poland, incidents involving UAVs of unknown origin were reported in Norway, Denmark, Finland, and Germany. Isolated cases were recorded in Romania, Sweden, Bulgaria, France, Belgium, and the Netherlands.
— Obviously, we are seeing the spread of drones in Europe. This is very dangerous, and it must be dealt with, and the sooner the better," French Ambassador to Russia Nicolas de Riviere told Izvestia.
Russian President Vladimir Putin, commenting on the accusations against Russia, joked that he would no longer send drones to Europe: "Neither to France, nor to Denmark, nor to Copenhagen. Where else are they flying to? To Lisbon." Speaking seriously, he stressed that Russia has no targets for drone strikes in Europe.
Russian President Vladimir Putin speaks at the plenary session of the XXII Annual Meeting of the Valdai International Discussion Club
"Russia has no interest in attacking the EU, but if it wanted to, it probably would not have started World War III by attacking the Polish, Slovak, Romanian or other EU borders with drones, but would have launched missiles that this system is not designed to intercept," Slovak told Izvestia. MEP Lubos Blaha.
The politician noted that while the European Commission is coming "with another batch of nonsense to feed the insatiable stomach of the militaristic lobby," Europe without cheap Russian energy resources is losing the "last remnants" of competitiveness, and the social situation is becoming more alarming.
Disputes over the "drone wall" in the European Union
The first major discussions around the "drone wall" took place at an informal meeting of EU leaders in Copenhagen on October 1. However, no specific decisions have been made. The list of countries that are ready to participate in this initiative has not been fully determined.
The Financial Times newspaper wrote that the reaction of some EU leaders in the Danish capital was "as cold as the Baltic Sea." According to the publication, the idea of a "wall" was criticized by French President Emmanuel Macron. "I'm sometimes wary of overly broad terms. Are there "iron domes" for Europeans or "walls" for drones? Everything is much more complicated," the French leader said.
Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, in turn, said that European defense projects should benefit the entire EU, not just its eastern flank. According to Politico, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz criticized the idea of financing the "drone wall" from European funds. Berlin expects the implementation of this initiative in about three to four years, which irritates Warsaw, which is already waiting for concrete financial solutions.
Finally, Lithuanian European Commissioner for Defense Andrius Kubilius said that for Eastern European countries there is a need to deploy drones to strike ground targets "in case of an enemy invasion."
— If we are talking about the "drone wall", it can help the Baltic countries, Poland, that is, countries that have a border with Russia. But it has no significance for Germany," Bundestag deputy Matthias Mosdorf told Izvestia. "What we are seeing in the media now is the maximum inflating of war propaganda.
The initiative promoted by Eastern European countries and the European Commission obviously does not find full support in Western and Southern Europe, said German political analyst Alexander Rahr.
— Apparently, most of the European Union countries are not convinced that it is worth spending billions of euros on this "drone wall". The EU member states agreed to increase their budgets and purchase weapons from the United States. But the issue of drones was not discussed when decisions on militarization were made. Therefore, it seems to many countries that they just want to invite them to pay for something again," he told Izvestia.
The expert points out that each EU member has its own priorities. The countries of Southern Europe have their own threats, in particular uncontrolled migration from the Middle East. Alexander Rahr believes that so far the European Union is unlikely to be able to reach a consensus on the "drone wall".
Переведено сервисом «Яндекс Переводчик»
