A ‘drone wall’ and Ukraine pact: the EU ups its ambitions on defense

BERLIN — Europe’s defense and autonomy were front and center in Wednesday’s State of the European Union address by Commission President Ursula von der Leyen.

In a combative speech that was interspersed with applause and some jeers from the far right, she characterized the present time as “Europe’s independence moment” and unveiled a series of new EU initiatives to strengthen the continent.

Among the measures is a “drone alliance” that the EU will form with Ukraine. The €6 billion ($7 billion) program is designed “so that Ukraine keeps its edge, and Europe strengthens its own,” Von der Leyen said.

She pointed to Ukraine’s drone-warfare revolution, having gone from few such weapons to unmanned systems now accounting for over two-thirds of Russian equipment losses on the battlefield, she said.

Von der Leyen, who serves as the head of the EU’s executive branch, announced a series of additional measures, including a “drone wall” to protect the 27 member countries from aerial incursions coming from Russia.

Last night, in a dramatic escalation, roughly a dozen Russian drones entered Polish airspace, with one residential building reportedly damaged.

“There is no doubt: Europe’s eastern flank keeps all of Europe safe, from the Baltic Sea to the Black Sea,” said Von der Leyen, unveiling a new project she dubbed Eastern Flank Watch.

“This means providing Europe with independent strategic means,” the commission president said, including real-time space surveillance capabilities to detect troop movements. There should not be “any ambiguity about our intentions,” Von der Leyen said: “Europe will defend every inch of its territory.”

Von der Leyen also announced new “reparation loans” to support Ukraine, coming from Russian assets frozen in European bank accounts. The loan is to be backed by cash balances – interest and investment returns – and profits generated from frozen Russian assets, not the assets themselves.

The EU has approximately €210 billion ($246 billion) in Russian Central Bank assets immobilized within its borders. These frozen funds generate interest and investment returns that typically yield €2.5 to €3 billion ($2.9 to 3.5 billion) annually.

Ukraine will only be expected to repay this loan once it receives Russian reparations, according to Von der Leyen’s plan.

Europe has already provided €170 billion ($199 billion) in military and financial aid to Ukraine.

Meanwhile, Von der Leyen also announced a tougher stance on Israel for its actions in the Gaza Strip.

“The commission will do all that it can do on its own,” she said, a nod to bypassing EU infighting. The plan is to put bilateral support to Israel on hold and propose sanctions on extremist government officials and violent settlers, as well as a partial suspension of the association agreement on trade-related matters, Von der Leyen said.

The announcement was followed by cheers and some jeers. A large part of the parliamentarians she was addressing, particularly those on the left, wore red as a sign of solidarity with Gazans.

Linus Höller is Defense News' Europe correspondent and OSINT investigator. He reports on the arms deals, sanctions, and geopolitics shaping Europe and the world. He holds master’s degrees in WMD nonproliferation, terrorism studies, and international relations, and works in four languages: English, German, Russian, and Spanish.

柏林——在欧盟委员会主席乌尔苏拉·冯德莱恩周三发表的欧盟国情咨文中，欧洲的国防和自主权被放在了首要位置。

在一段充满战斗精神的演讲中，她不时获得掌声，但也遭到极右翼人士的嘲笑。她将当前时期描述为“欧洲的独立时刻”，并公布了一系列旨在加强欧洲大陆的欧盟新举措。

这些措施中包括欧盟将与乌克兰组建的“无人机联盟”。冯德莱恩表示，这项耗资60亿欧元（70亿美元）的计划旨在“使乌克兰保持优势，同时增强欧洲自身的实力”。

她指出，乌克兰的无人机战争革命已经从很少的此类武器发展到如今无人系统造成俄罗斯在战场上装备损失的三分之二以上。

欧盟执行机构负责人冯德莱恩宣布了一系列额外措施，包括建立“无人机墙”，以保护27个成员国免受来自俄罗斯的空中入侵。

昨晚，事态急剧升级，大约十几架俄罗斯无人机进入波兰领空，据报道有一栋居民楼遭到破坏。

“毫无疑问：欧洲的东翼保护着整个欧洲的安全，从波罗的海到黑海，”冯德莱恩在推出她称之为“东翼观察”的新项目时说道。

“这意味着要为欧洲提供独立的战略手段，”欧盟委员会主席冯德莱恩表示，其中包括实时太空监视能力，用于探测部队调动。冯德莱恩强调，“我们的意图不应有任何含糊之处：欧洲将捍卫其每一寸领土。”

冯德莱恩还宣布了新的“赔偿贷款”，用于支持乌克兰，资金来源于冻结在欧洲银行账户中的俄罗斯资产。这笔贷款将以现金余额（利息和投资收益）以及冻结俄罗斯资产产生的利润作为担保，而非资产本身。

欧盟境内冻结了约2100亿欧元（2460亿美元）的俄罗斯中央银行资产。这些冻结资金产生的利息和投资回报通常每年可达25亿至30亿欧元（29亿至35亿美元）。

根据冯德莱恩的计划，乌克兰只有在收到俄罗斯的赔款后才会被要求偿还这笔贷款。

欧洲已经向乌克兰提供了1700亿欧元（1990亿美元）的军事和财政援助。

与此同时，冯德莱恩还宣布对以色列在加沙地带的行动采取更强硬的立场。

“委员会将尽其所能独立行事，”她说道，这暗示着欧盟将绕过内部纷争。冯德莱恩表示，计划是暂停对以色列的双边援助，并提议对极端主义政府官员和暴力定居者实施制裁，以及部分暂停与以色列在贸易相关事项上的联系国协定。

声明之后，现场响起一片欢呼声，但也夹杂着一些嘘声。她所发表讲话的大部分议员，特别是左翼议员，都身着红色服装，以示对加沙人民的声援。

林努斯·霍勒是《防务新闻》的欧洲记者和开源情报调查员。他报道影响欧洲乃至全球的军火交易、制裁和地缘政治。他拥有大规模杀伤性武器不扩散、恐怖主义研究和国际关系三个硕士学位，并精通英语、德语、俄语和西班牙语四种语言。