On Wednesday 10 September, the President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, proposed the establishment of a ‘European Defence Semester’ to monitor plans to achieve defence objectives by 2030. The term ‘European Semester’ is usually applied to the economy and is an annual exercise that coordinates the EU’s economic and social policies.
Ms von der Leyen reiterated that at the next European Council she would present a clear roadmap for launching new joint defence projects, setting precise targets for 2030 and creating the ‘European Defence Semester’. “2030 is tomorrow. So Europe must get ready today”, she stressed.
Denouncing a “dangerous” and “unprecedented” violation of Polish and European airspace by “over ten Russian Shahed drones” the previous night, the President announced an ‘Eastern Flank Watch’ system to monitor the EU’s eastern front. “There’s no doubt about it: Europe’s eastern flank keeps all of Europe safe. From the Baltic to the Black Sea. That’s why we need to invest in supporting it with an Eastern Flank Watch”, she explained. According to Ms von der Leyen, the aim is to provide Europe with independent strategic resources and to invest in real-time space situational awareness so that no movement of forces goes unnoticed. “We must heed the call of our Baltic friends and build a drone wall”, she pleaded.
According to the President, this is the foundation of a credible defence, a European capability that is developed together, deployed together and sustained together, that can react in real time, that leaves no ambiguity as to our intentions. “Europe will defend every inch of its territory”, she vowed, echoing a promise usually made by NATO.
Poland calls for Article 4 to be activated. Following this incursion by Russian drones, Poland asked the Atlantic Alliance on Wednesday 10 September to activate Article 4 of the North Atlantic Treaty, which provides for consultations between Allies in the event of a threat to one of its members.
NATO air defences were activated and Polish F-16s, Dutch F-35s, Italian A-AXs, NATO troop transport aircraft and German Patriot anti-aircraft batteries were involved in the defence of Polish territory. According to the Polish Prime Minister, Donald Tusk, his country’s airspace was violated at least 19 times and at least three Russian drones were shot down during the night. Seven drones and the debris of a projectile were found, and a house and a car were damaged, according to the Ministry of the Interior.
The ambassadors of the allied countries met again on Wednesday morning for a meeting that had been planned before the Russian attack, but was transformed into an ‘Article 4’ meeting.
At the end of the meeting, NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte explained that the Allies had expressed their solidarity with Poland and denounced Russia’s “irresponsible” behaviour. “Whether intentional or not, it's absolutely irresponsible. It's absolutely dangerous”, he stressed, while the Polish Foreign Minister, Radosław Sikorski, felt that there was no doubt that the scale of the attack meant it could not have been accidental. Mr Rutte explained that a full assessment of the incident was underway and warned that the Allies would be closely monitoring the situation on the Alliance’s eastern flank and that air defences were constantly ready to intervene.
On Wednesday afternoon, Mr Tusk met with the Presidents of Ukraine, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, and France, Emmanuel Macron, the President of the Italian Council, Giorgia Meloni, and the British Prime Minister, Keir Starmer, as well as Mr Rutte.
The Member States’ ambassadors to the EU have also been informed of the situation by their Polish counterparts.
Link to Ms von der Leyen’s speech: https://aeur.eu/f/icl
See Ms von der Leyen’s letter of intent: https://aeur.eu/f/icn (Original version in French by Camille-Cerise Gessant)