Overview

• At an informal EU meeting, leaders debated a Europe‑wide drone defense "wall" to detect, track and intercept UAVs, with questions over scope, governance and EU funding still unresolved as Italy and Greece warned against an eastern‑only focus.
• Denmark mounted extraordinary summit security with anti‑drone infantry vehicles, a nationwide civilian drone ban and airport radar shielding, reinforced by allied support and the German air‑defense frigate Hamburg in Copenhagen.
• Support for Ukraine featured prominently as leaders examined using frozen Russian state assets for interest‑free loans, a plan publicly backed by German Chancellor Friedrich Merz alongside existing tools such as €150 billion in EU defense loans and defense‑spending exemptions from EU debt rules.
• EU officials framed recent drone incursions and airspace violations as hybrid threats, with Denmark’s Mette Frederiksen urging a strong response and France’s Emmanuel Macron calling for firmness without escalation.
• Ursula von der Leyen will refine a package of defense projects for late October, and leaders reconvene in Copenhagen on Thursday for the European Political Community, where Ukraine is set to be a focus and President Volodymyr Zelenskyy is expected.