European Commissioner for Defence and Space Andrius Kubilius described the inaugural meeting of the EU-Ukraine Drone Alliance as a historic step forward.
He made this statement in Brussels on Friday following the meeting of the EU-Ukraine Drone Alliance, which, according to the European Commissioner, involved 18 founding participants—nine from the EU and nine from Ukraine—comprising manufacturers, innovators, startups, and companies.
“We started this morning with a very important step forward, I would call even historical step forward in bringing European Union and Ukraine draw an alliance into reality, which is a very big step forward in integrating ourselves together to Become much stronger. We need to learn from Ukraine how to scale up and meet the demand of new technologies when we need it,” Kubilius emphasized.
According to the European Commissioner, this first meeting brought together participants who will work on agreed-upon measures. “They will now work on the agreed activities with a 2nd board meeting planned before the end of the year. And they are still continuing now to discuss what is the agenda,” he added.
Kubilius noted that the Alliance, with the participation of Ukraine's industry, serves as an instrument of "industrial partnership and integration with Ukraine." “And let me remind you that it was launched during the 3rd EU-Ukraine Defense Industry Forum in Kyiv and it is the first step towards the EU-Ukraine drone deal announced by President Ursula von der Leyen on 5 July as part of the EU-Ukraine defense industrial pact. With President Volodymyr Zelensky, European airspace is being tested with repeated drone violations in our airports, military installations, and critical infrastructure,” the European Commissioner recalled.
Kubilius noted that while European airspace is facing constant drone incursions over airports, military sites, and critical infrastructure, for Ukraine, this represents a real threat. “Such threat is a daily reality. The challenge we face is not only the technological edge, but also about speed and industrial capacity to deliver together,” he noted.
