On the evening of Wednesday 10 September, the High Representative of the Union, Kaja Kallas, condemned in the “strongest terms” the “intentional” violation of the airspace of an EU Member State - Poland - by Russian drones on the night of 9/10 September, promising to provide Poland with the support it needs to protect its eastern border.
“This aggressive and reckless act is part of a serious escalation by Russia. It threatens the security of EU citizens, regional stability and international peace”, she denounced in a statement on behalf of the EU.
Ms Kallas warned that this “serious violation of European airspace” only reinforces our determination to support Ukraine and its people in their defence against Russia and in their quest for a comprehensive, just and lasting peace.
“We will raise the cost for Moscow further by ramping up sanctions significantly on Russia and its enablers. We will also work with our international partners to put pressure on Russia to end this war”, added the High Representative. Earlier in the day, the EU’s special envoy for sanctions, David O’Sullivan, had briefed Member State delegations on the work being done with the Americans regarding the ways to increase pressure on Russia.
On Thursday, the ambassadors met the Secretary General of NATO for a long-awaited breakfast to discuss EU-NATO cooperation, as well as the Russian aggression against Ukraine, which “continues and threatens the security of the whole of Europe”. “The violations of Polish airspace by Russian drones are a flagrant illustration of this”, stressed the Danish Presidency of the EU Council on X.
On Thursday, Germany announced that it was extending its NATO air policing mission by three months and increasing the number of combat aircraft deployed from two to four.
Parliament support for Poland. On Thursday, in a debate added at the last minute to the agenda, MEPs gave their support to Poland, calling for the EU’s defence to be strengthened, notably through the implementation of the SAFE programme, and for stronger sanctions against Russia.
According to Andrzej Halicki (EPP, Polish), the drone attack is “proof that (Vladimir) Putin is sending a message to Europe. He’s going to attack us and put us to the test”. “Putin is testing the ties between EU countries. We need to show solidarity and meet the challenges. Poland has invoked Article 4 (of NATO) and the EU will be strong or it will not be”, added Krzysztof Śmiszek (S&D, Polish). Adam Bielan (ECR, Polish) pointed out that Vladimir Putin only understood the language of force. Michał Kobosko (Renew Europe, Polish), for his part, felt that it was time to “put an end to naivety; the era of innocence is over”. (Original version in French by Camille-Cerise Gessant)