On October 1, local time, EU leaders held a summit in Copenhagen, Denmark, focusing on key issues such as European defence and the Russian-Ukrainian conflict.

¡÷ EU leaders took a group photo at an informal meeting in Copenhagen, Denmark on October 1

The meeting, originally scheduled to last for two hours, was eventually extended to four hours before ending. According to various sources, the atmosphere during the meeting was tense, and discussions around the construction of the "drone wall" were particularly intense. European media quoted diplomats attending the meeting as saying that the leaders of Germany and France strongly criticized the plan and took a firm attitude, while European Commission President Von der Leyen still said after the meeting that the plan would continue to advance.

This discrepancy highlights the controversial ¡°drone wall¡± program within the EU:It is not a mere technological project, but is gradually evolving into a game about Europe¡¯s defence direction and political stance.

What risks can the "drone wall" resolve?

On September 26, EU defense officials discussed the "drone wall" defense system through a video conference with some EU defense ministers, Ukraine and NATO representatives.

Kubilius, the senior EU official in charge of defense, made it a "priority" for the EU. In Kubilius's view, the recent drone incidents in Northern and Eastern Europe send a signal that "Russia is testing the EU and NATO", and the EU must make a "firm, united and quick" response to this.

¡÷ Renderings of the "drone wall" produced by European media

According to the information disclosed so far, the envisaged "drone wall" is a networked and three-dimensional defense system. The main task of this system is to discover, track and intercept drones, locate targets by relying on radar, infrared, photoelectric and radio signals, and suppress or shoot down drones before they enter key areas. According to the Financial Times, the EU's "drone wall" will provide protection for the entire European continent.

¡÷ Screenshot of Financial Times report

Some analysts believe that it will take several years before this system can be put into use as soon as possible, which is a typical investment that "far away from water cannot be hydrolyzed near thirst". In addition, the EU spokesperson also admitted that the project timetable is uncertain and there are still many variables.

The proposal to build a "drone wall" first appeared on September 10 this year. When European Commission President Von der Leyen delivered a "State of the Union Address" at the European Parliament, he mentioned the construction of a monitoring mechanism for the east wing of the EU and the development of real-time space monitoring capabilities, and adopted the initiative of the Baltic countries to build a "drone wall." In a document distributed to member states during the last week of September, the European Commission described the "wall" as a line of defense composed of multi-level advanced systems with the ability to detect, track and intercept drones.

The differences and calculations behind the EU¡¯s ¡°unmanned wall¡±

Germany, France, Italy and other major powers are concerned about this idea.Mertz, Germany¡¯s prime minister, with the support of France and Italy, stressed that these major defence projects should be firmly controlled by member states, not by the EU.

On 28 September, German Defence Minister Pistorius questioned the rapid construction of a ¡°drone wall¡± and urged the EU institutions to separate the importance of the impetus when thinking and acting, rather than the urge to ¡°build a wall¡±, and Europe needs to focus on more urgent and more critical matters.

On the eve of the Copenhagen conference, the Elysée Palace noted that the construction of the ¡°drone wall¡± is a complex issue, and Europe needs a multi-level defense system that includes long-range and short-range air defense systems.

French President Macron added this at the meeting on the 1st. In his view, Europe should concentrate on jointly developing early warning systems, purchasing indigenous "deterrent" deep strike capabilities including ballistic missiles, and purchasing more air defense systems.

Southern European countries also gave their own considerations. At the summit in Copenhagen, Greek Prime Minister Mitsotakis warned that any common defense project must take into account the security of the entire EU. He emphasized that although the eastern border of the EU needs to be covered, the southern border of Europe cannot be ignored. The only way to ensure that the entire continent is protected from threats. This view was echoed by Italian Prime Minister Meloni. She warned that the EU's borders are very broad and should not only focus on the east and forget the southern flank.

The main reason for the disagreement is the allocation of the EU budget. According to the current design, two-thirds of the funds for the "UAV Wall" project are required to be allocated to Eastern European countries, which directly causes dissatisfaction in western and southern European countries such as Germany, France and Italy.

In addition to the huge differences between the member states around financial spending, European media that the project also faces many unresolved problems. The EU's defense capabilities are uneven, standards are unified, funding is insufficient, leading to project landing slow or even fragmented. In addition, the EU still lacks experience in technology for drone defense, from the Nordic countries to deal with drone cases, can be found frequent misinformation, leakage inspection, and the stability of countermeasures is difficult to guarantee. If interception actions are wrong, cross-border or out of control, it is very easy to trigger diplomatic friction and legal disputes.

The ¡°Wall of Unmanned Machines¡±: Is it a ¡°disinfectant¡± or a political gesture?

Talking about the "drone wall" plan promoted by the European Union, we have to contact the recent frequent drone "harassment" incidents over many European countries. Especially earlier this month, Poland accused unknown drones of "invading" its airspace, causing regional tensions.

In Denmark and Norway, airports and military facilities have recently witnessed multiple drones breaking into controlled airspace, causing flight interruptions and even threatening the security of critical infrastructure.

German Chancellor Merz:We don¡¯t know who was behind these attacks yet, but I want to take this opportunity to thank the German Air Force and the German Navy for their security efforts in Copenhagen and elsewhere.

French President Macron:I will be very cautious on this issue, and I do not want to blame any of the parties.

However, EU officials would prefer to believe that this was a covert "hybrid attack" and was related to Russia's strategic intentions. In this context, the rush to launch a "drone wall" seems to many observers more like a political gesture than a fundamental solution to the problem.

At the same time, the "new Europe" countries in Eastern Europe have long been dissatisfied with the defense affairs dominated by "old Europe" such as France and Germany. On security issues, they often prefer to rely on the United States rather than Europe itself. However, for the "harassment" of drones in Europe, US President Trump responded that this "may be an operational error". The tone of this statement was an understatement, which was interpreted by many European security experts as: the United States tried to downplay the situation and avoid clear characterization. In fact, this expression draws a political boundary for the event.

In the context of this confluence of security concerns and political crackdowns, how much security can a costly and highly technologically integrated ¡°drone wall¡± provide? it is a step in the EU¡¯s strategic autonomy, or it is a overrated political symbol?

Reporters are ignorant.