European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and defence commissioner Andrius Kubilius arrived in Vilnius on Tuesday for urgent talks with Lithuanian President Gitanas Nausėda and Estonian President Alar Karis. The visit comes after a series of drone incursions that have rattled the Baltic states and raised questions about the effectiveness of EU counter-drone measures.
Last Wednesday, a drone alert forced Vilnius to a standstill, sending residents scrambling for bunkers. It was the fourth such incident on Europe's eastern flank in two weeks, following a NATO jet shooting down a drone over Estonia. While the drones are believed to be Ukrainian in origin, experts say Russia is diverting them off course using electronic jamming, making them harder to intercept and posing greater risks to civilians.
The crisis has also destabilised local politics. Latvia's government collapsed earlier this month after Prime Minister Evika Siliņa dismissed her defence minister over repeated air defence failures. The Baltic nations accuse Moscow of sowing chaos and undermining support for Ukraine among its staunchest allies.
EU under pressure to act
The Commission's chief spokesperson said Tuesday's visit aims to "stress" EU support for strengthening Baltic defences and ensuring "closer cooperation" in response to threats. But three months after Brussels unveiled an action plan to help countries beef up counter-drone security, the continued entry of stray drones into European airspace is raising doubts about the speed and efficiency of those initiatives.
Meanwhile, EU affairs ministers are meeting in Brussels to discuss the next long-term budget, relations with the United Kingdom, and preparations for the June summit of leaders. Sixteen countries, known as the "Friends of Cohesion," have called for an ambitious budget prioritising regional and agricultural funding.
Enlargement is also on the agenda. Cyprus, holding the EU Council presidency, hopes to open the first cluster of negotiations with Ukraine and Moldova before handing over to Ireland on 1 July. The step remains under Hungary's veto, but hopes are rising after Budapest launched formal talks with Kyiv on the Hungarian minority in western Ukraine. "We're working very hard," a senior official said. "We really want to have the first cluster open, yesterday if we could."
Albania, considered the most advanced candidate after Montenegro, will hold an accession conference later Tuesday to confirm progress under the Fundamentals cluster.
Trade tensions with China
Later this week, European Commissioners will brainstorm how to respond to China's aggressive trade policies. France, Italy, Spain, the Netherlands, and Lithuania have pushed for tougher trade defences, including tariffs and quotas, to address "sector-wide trade disruptions" and unfair practices like dumping and subsidies, according to a non-paper seen by Euronews. The document also calls for strengthening the Commission's trade-defence team, currently around 140 officials, and integrating economic security into trade assessments.
But divisions persist. Germany did not endorse the document, and Spain softened its stance over the weekend. "We support a balanced approach based on added value, economic openness, and the guarantee of secure, diversified and resilient supply chains," a Spanish government official said.
Russia threatens Kyiv with systemic strikes
Moscow has threatened Kyiv with "systemic" aerial attacks, just 48 hours after hitting the Ukrainian capital with 600 drones and 90 missiles, including 30 ballistic missiles and an Oreshnik intermediate-range ballistic missile. The Russian foreign ministry advised foreign nationals, including diplomatic staff, to leave the city.
In a phone call with US Secretary of State Marco Rubio on Monday, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said Russia would start "systemic strikes" on sites in Kyiv allegedly used by the Ukrainian Armed Forces, urging American citizens to evacuate. The US-based Institute for the Study of War reported that Russia damaged government buildings and cultural sites in Kyiv.
Belarusian opposition leader Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya, speaking from Kyiv, told Euronews that "democratic Belarus is with Ukraine" and accused President Aliaksandr Lukashenka of being willing to "sacrifice Belarus's independence and sovereignty to stay in power."
For more on the escalating drone warfare, see our report on Russian Drone Barrage Hits Kharkiv Residential Area as Attacks Intensify and analysis of Ukraine's drone warfare forcing Germany to rethink battlefield strategy.
