Victor Negrescu, Vice-President of the European Parliament, announced a dual initiative in the European legislature: a debate on Russian drones violating the airspace of several EU member states, including Poland, Estonia, Denmark and Romania, and the preparation of a resolution demanding concrete measures to protect European citizens and critical infrastructure.

“The Social-Democrat Group has proposed and obtained that the European Parliament hold a debate at the next plenary session on the issue of Russian drones that have flown over the airspace of EU member states and the measures the European Union must adopt to protect our citizens, our critical infrastructure, and our sovereignty,” Negrescu stated, pointing to repeated Russian incursions across the Eastern flank of the EU.

He further underlined that he has requested the initiation of a resolution calling for the “rapid development of a common European system of protection against such threats (a European Iron Dome), the creation of the European Maritime Security Hub in Romania, as well as stronger coordination within NATO and EU defense funding programs”.

This initiative follows Negrescu’s success in rallying Romanian MEPs from across the political spectrum to co-sign a letter to European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, advocating for Romania to host the European Maritime Security Hub in Constanța.

The Vice-President of the European Parliament also pressed the European Commission to swiftly deliver on the measures and solutions announced by Ursula von der Leyen in her State of the Union speech — namely the creation of an Eastern Flank Watch and a European drone wall.

“It is not enough to merely announce this system in a speech. We need to see what the means are, what the resources are, and how we use European programs to ensure that, in a very, very short time, our states have all the systems and mechanisms necessary to protect our airspace and safeguard both our national and European sovereignty”, Negrescu stated.