On a united response to recent Russian violations of the EU Member States’ airspace and critical infrastructure

C.whereas in Denmark, civil and military authorities have reported unauthorised drone flights over airports and other sensitive and military infrastructure, described as ‘hybrid attack’type operations; whereas unauthorised drone flights over airports and other sensitive infrastructure were reported in Belgium near the Elsenborn military site and in Germany near Munich Airport; whereas to date, officials have been unable to identify where the drones originated or who operated them;

D.whereas Estonian authorities reported that three Russian MiG31 fighter jets entered Estonian airspace over the island of Vaindloo for about 12 minutes without flight plans and with their transponders switched off; whereas NATO consequently scrambled Italian F-35 fighter jets to intercept them; whereas Estonia requested NATO consultations under Article 4 of the North Atlantic Treaty, condemning the incursion as ‘totally unacceptable’; whereas while Russia denied violating Estonian airspace, maintaining the flight was over neutral waters, NATO confirmed the incident;

E.whereas in Latvia, there have been radar detections and reports of suspicious flight paths close to its eastern border; whereas subsequent assessments have not confirmed a violation of Latvian airspace;

F.whereas on 13 September 2025, a drone allegedly breached Romanian airspace near the border with Ukraine for approximately 50 minutes during a Russian attack on Ukrainian infrastructure; whereas the Romanian authorities scrambled F-16 fighter jets to intercept the drone, which eventually exited Romanian airspace and returned towards Ukraine;

G.whereas over recent years, NATO fighter jets were typically scrambled 300-400 times per year to monitor or escort Russian military aircraft approaching allied airspace without flight plans or with their transponders switched off; whereas Russian authorities reported similar scrambles against NATO and US reconnaissance or patrol flights near Russian borders; whereas confirmed violations of sovereign airspace represent a violation of international law;

H.whereas in September 2025, NATO launched Operation Eastern Sentry, deploying fighter jets and air defence assets to enhance readiness and protect NATO airspace in response to the alleged Russian incursions;

I.whereas the Member States have the right to defend their airspace, territory and citizens, but defensive actions must be proportional, transparent, subject to oversight and consistent with international obligations;

J.whereas the war in Ukraine and Russia’s full-scale invasion in February 2022 have caused tremendous humanitarian suffering, regional instability and an enduring security risk;

K.whereas the UN Charter and the Helsinki Final Act commit all states to resolve disputes peacefully, to refrain from threats and the use of force, to respect territorial integrity and to pursue cooperative security;

L.whereas NATO’s direct involvement in military operations against Russia risks leading to a potential catastrophic nuclear conflict in Europe;

M.whereas the increasing use of drones in border regions and near critical infrastructure highlights the need for the EU Member States to enhance defensive capabilities against unmanned aerial systems, including detection, monitoring and proportionate countermeasures, while ensuring that such measures are transparent, precautionary and do not contribute to unnecessary escalation or public alarm;

N.whereas Article 21 of the Treaty on European Union commits the Union to safeguard peace, prevent conflicts and strengthen international security through peaceful means;

1.Condemns any deliberate violation of the Member States’ airspace and reaffirms that such actions constitute a breach of international law and a potential threat to European security;

2.Acknowledges the right of the Member States to defend their airspace and protect their citizens, while strongly warning that disproportionate or hasty reactions could dangerously escalate tensions; stresses that defensive measures must always be proportionate, evidencebased, transparent and coordinated;

3.Opposes the instrumentalisation of such incidents to argue for massive rearmament or unlimited increases in defence spending, at the expense of social, environmental and humanitarian priorities;

4.Calls for the Member States and the EU institutions to differentiate actual violations of sovereign airspace from precautionary scrambles in international airspace, in order to preserve credibility and reduce risk of counter-escalation;

5.Calls on the Commission and the High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy to present to Parliament and the Council a comprehensive public report on all alleged airspace incidents since 2022, detailing evidence, uncertainties and conclusions;

6.Demands that the Russian Federation refrain from any threatening or provocative actions or flights and strictly respect international airspace boundaries; encourages NATO and Russia to maintain transparency and communication channels, including OSCE frameworks and military-to-military hotlines, to minimise risk of accidents or misunderstandings; calls, in this regard, for diplomatic efforts to convince the United States and Russia to rejoin the Treaty on Open Skies as a confidence-building measure;

7.Emphasises that Europe’s long-term security lies in diplomacy, arms control, confidence-building, incident prevention and cooperative security arrangements, not in militaristic escalation or rhetoric;

8.Strongly opposes rhetorical strategies that depict conflict with Russia as inevitable, or that pressure Member States into adopting maximalist defence policies disconnected from verified threats; insists that the European Union act as a voice of restraint and diplomacy, countering both external disinformation and internal warmongering, and prioritising negotiated solutions to reduce risks of miscalculation;

9.Calls for the Member States to develop and strengthen defensive capabilities against unmanned aerial systems (drones), including detection, monitoring and proportionate countermeasures; stresses that these capabilities should be coordinated, when appropriate, at EU level; stresses that defence, including the defence of airspace, is primarily a national competence;

10.Reiterates its condemnation of Russia’s ongoing war of aggression in Ukraine and its solidarity with the Ukrainian people; calls urgently for renewed diplomatic efforts and negotiated solutions as the central priority of the EU; calls for the EU to finally open negotiation channels to achieve a political solution to the conflict in Ukraine, a response to the need for collective security and disarmament in Europe, and compliance with the principles of the UN Charter and the Helsinki Final Act;

11.Deplores the solely militaristic approach of Ursula von der Leyen and Kaja Kallas; demands a redirection of the Union’s policy towards diplomacy and de-escalation, placing peace, human security and conflict resolution above further military escalation;

12.Instructs its President to forward this resolution to the Council, the Commission, the Vice-President of the Commission / High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, the governments and parliaments of the Member States, the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe, and the Secretary-General of the United Nations.