Slovakia and Hungary have been excluded from the first round of discussions on the proposed European Union “drone wall” along the bloc’s eastern border, European Commission spokesperson Thomas Regnier confirmed on Sept. 22.
The video conference, scheduled for Sept. 26 and convened by EU Defense Commissioner Andrius Kubilius, will bring together representatives from seven EU member states — Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Finland, Poland, Romania, and Bulgaria — as well as Ukraine.
Hungary and Slovakia, the only EU countries bordering Ukraine not invited to the talks, have maintained close relations with Russia since the start of its full-scale invasion of Ukraine and have repeatedly opposed tougher EU measures against Moscow.
According to Regnier, the meeting will focus on assessing the defense capabilities and security needs of participating nations, with the aim of coordinating next steps “in close cooperation with Ukraine and other member states.” He added that the format could be expanded in the future.
The talks follow several recent incidents involving Russian drones, including violations of Romanian airspace and UAVs shot down over Poland, which have raised security concerns along the EU’s eastern flank.
In response to these incursions, Poland triggered NATO’s Article 4, leading to the launch of NATO’s Eastern Sentry mission to counter Russian interference in allied airspace. As part of the operation, Czechia will deploy Mi-171S helicopters, the United Kingdom will send Typhoon fighter jets, Denmark will contribute two F-16s and an anti-air warfare frigate, France will provide three Rafale jets, and Germany will commit four Eurofighters.
