Pozņaks: "Europe must be ready for the battlefield of today, not the last war"

“Drones and autonomous systems have fundamentally changed the nature of conflict, and Europe can no longer rely on structures designed for a bygone era,” ECR Rapporteur Reinis Pozņaks said after the Committee on Security and Defence adopted his own-initiative report calling on the European Commission to face the realities of a future drone-enabled battlefield.

Pozņaks said:

“We seek to address one of today’s most critical and persistent security threats” and to push the European Union towards the rapid adjustments needed “to remain secure and competitive”.

The report sets out a comprehensive framework for how the European Union should prepare for a new era of drone-enabled conflict. It calls for the rapid integration of drones and counter-drone systems across all levels of EU defence planning; stronger societal and civil-infrastructure protection against low-cost aerial threats; and the development of a resilient, autonomous European drone industry able to supply key technologies without external dependence. The text also urges the institutionalisation of EU–NATO cooperation on standards, operations and situational awareness, as well as a shift from regulatory inertia to a capabilities-driven security policy that can keep pace with technological and military realities.

“Drones are no longer niche assets deployed by a limited number of actors, but decisive tools shaping modern combat, surveillance, logistics and deterrence. Anyone who still treats drones as an optional capability has not understood what is happening on the battlefield. The EU must adapt its defence structures, industrial base and civil preparedness – or we will continue to fall behind faster adversaries”, Poznaks said.

He added that European security “cannot rest on fragmented national approaches or bureaucratic comfort zones”, insisting that the Union must integrate drones and counter-drone systems across all defence levels.

Pozņaks also highlighted the need to build a resilient and autonomous European drone industry capable of supporting the Union’s long-term security interests.

“Europe cannot rely on external suppliers for the technologies that define warfare today. We need industrial strength at home, not only to equip our armed forces, but to ensure strategic autonomy where it truly matters,” he said. These industrial efforts, he added, must go hand-in-hand with institutionalised EU–NATO coordination on standards, operations and situational awareness, according to Pozņaks.

Pozņaks further underlined the importance of strengthening societal and critical-infrastructure readiness for drone-era threats, noting that civilian protection can no longer be treated as secondary.

“Drone attacks on infrastructure are cheap, asymmetric and highly destructive. The EU cannot allow our societies to remain exposed. This report is a call to take that reality seriously,” he said.

The report reflects an urgent need for the European Union to move beyond regulatory inertia and adopt a capabilities-driven security policy that keeps pace with technological change. European citizens, the Group said, expect preparedness, deterrence and real protective capacities – not further delays or hesitant procedures.

The report was adopted in the Committee on Security and Defence by 31 votes in favour, 4 against and 2 abstentions, and will now move to the European Parliament’s plenary.