EU chief calls for NATO-like EU security mechanism
STRASBOURG
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen gestures as she delivers a speech during her annual State of the Union address at a plenary session of the European Parliament in Strasbourg, eastern France on September 16, 2026. (AFP Photo)
The European Union needs a NATO-like mechanism to better respond to drone incidents, acts of sabotage and cyberattacks across Europe, many of them blamed on Russia, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said on Sept. 16.
“Europe needs its own counter-hybrid playbook. We urgently need a consensus on how to respond to certain incidents,” von der Leyen said, particularly for acts that “fall below armed aggression but clearly threaten our national security.”
Officials in Germany, Denmark and Poland have in recent weeks accused Russia of involvement in drone incursions, sabotage, arson, surveillance of defense facilities and planning to use a drone carrying explosives to attack an airport.
Italian fighter jets working with NATO shot down a drone over EU member Lithuania earlier this week, the first time one has been downed in its airspace. It was believed to have entered from Russia’s ally, Belarus.
But Europe and NATO are struggling to know how best to respond to acts that fall short of outright aggression.
Von der Leyen said that the system should be similar to Article 4of NATO’s founding treaty, which allows countries believing that their territory is under threat to convene emergency meetings.
“When triggered by one member state, all member states would convene, to coordinate a European response, to deter further escalation, and to mitigate the impact,” she said.
NATO’s Article 4 is separate from Article 5, the collective security guarantee that obliges all member countries to come to the aid of an ally under attack.
Von der Leyen also said that the EU commission will also “set out our ideas to make a European Security Council a reality.”
It would involve other international partners like Britain, Canada, Norway and Ukraine, she said, without providing further details.
In her speech, von der Leyen also called for the 27-nation bloc to fight back against “the ultranationalists or the anti-Europeans” who want to undermine it.
“Do we let our democracies be undermined by the proxies and puppets of authoritarians,” von der Leyen asked during a keynote speech to EU lawmakers.
“They despise our values, and they want to shatter our European unity. So let’s not only fight back against that, let’s fight together for our European idea.”
Von der Leyen said the challenges facing Europe, including the cost of living, were fueling “the rise of the extreme, the decline of nuance.”
“These real concerns are being weaponized to drive a wedge between us. Sometimes from the outside, and too often from the inside,” she said.
“But our path is clear: Building an independent Europe that has the power to act. Nothing can divert us from this.”
the EU will also propose an emergency tool for countries to better deal with mass migration movements following the deadly rush to the Spanish territory of Ceuta, von der Leyen said.
“Europe needs the means to protect its borders at all times. Especially in scenarios when mass movements are engineered and weaponized. This is why we will propose a new European Emergency Response Framework,” von der Leyen said.