EU's drone defense plan complements NATO, aims to strengthen Europe-wide protection: Kallas

EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas said Wednesday that the bloc's new drone defense initiative will work in tandem with NATO to boost Europe's protection against aerial threats, stressing that "the drones could come from anywhere."

"The military plans come from NATO, that's very clear. But the procurement has to be done by the member states," Kallas told reporters ahead of the Foreign Affairs Council on defense. She said the EU's role is to "help the member states to do the joint procurements, flagship projects, so that it would actually help the member states to fill their capability targets."

She said the plan had evolved from a regional "drone wall" concept into a Europe-wide strategy after other countries recognized shared vulnerabilities, including from the sea and the south.

"We are actually talking about the whole of Europe when it comes to drone defense," Kallas said.

She said European cooperation with Ukraine's defense industry could "bring the procurement costs down, procurement times down," noting that Kyiv's battlefield innovation offers valuable lessons for Europe's broader defense readiness plans.

Asked about possible EU involvement in Gaza, Kallas said the bloc could contribute through its existing missions rather than new military deployments. She noted that those missions are the EU Border Assistance Mission at Rafah, which has reopened, and the EU Police Mission that supports training for the Palestinian police. The mandates of both missions, she added, could be expanded "if it's necessary."

"So far, we haven't put forward any concrete plans to have a separate military mission. It's up to the member states," she added.