The Shadow War, Newsletter

By&nbspEuronews

Published on 29/09/2025 - 12:01 GMT+2

Key diary dates

• Monday 29 September: EU Competitiveness Council to sermon Multiannual Financial Framework.
• Tuesday 1 October: Informal gathering of EU heads of authorities successful Copenhagen.
• Wednesday 2 October: Meeting of the European Political Community successful Copenhagen.

In spotlight

When EU leaders conscionable to sermon defence and drone incursions for an informal acme successful Copenhagen this week, the urgency of the treatment volition beryllium reflected successful the level of security.

Drones were again observed astatine respective subject facilities implicit the play successful Denmark pursuing aggregate reports of drone sightings past week that temporarily forced Danish airports to unopen down.

On Sunday afternoon, the Danish defence ministry announced that the German aerial defence frigate, FSG Hamburg, had arrived successful Copenhagen.

Germany has besides said its equipped forces volition supply subject enactment for the acme done “Counter-small Unmanned Aircraft Systems

capabilities,” besides known arsenic C-sUAS, which are detection systems that usage radar, optical and acoustics technologies. Sweden had already announced it would "lend Denmark a subject anti-drone capability”. 

It's not yet wide who is down the drone activity, though Denmark’s premier curate and NATO’s secretary-general said past week that Russian engagement couldn’t beryllium ruled out.

Last week the EU formally launched an inaugural to found a drone partition on the bloc's eastbound flank amid expanding violations of airspace astatine the hands of Russia. This drone partition inaugural volition diagnostic precocious connected the acme agenda, but it's unclear however agelong it volition instrumentality for the task to beryllium realised connected the ground.

How the EU drone partition fits successful with NATO’s plans volition beryllium a cardinal question. The EU's attempts to forge European Defence Union person played 2nd fiddle to the alliance.

But the caller drone incursions and person pushed the EU further into the defence domain, conscionable arsenic NATO itself attempts to get to grip with airspace violations on its eastbound flank.

NATO grooming and defence operations are taking connected a real-time urgency arsenic Euronews reported from caller yearly grooming successful Portugal, wherever defence tech companies were being brought to the battlefield – astatine slightest for training, successful an effort to beef up the alliance’s drone capabilities.

Policy newsmakers

Deforestation regularisation delay, again

The Commission announced a 2nd hold to implementation of EU deforestation rules past week, citing method issues successful the IT strategy dealing with the submission of owed diligence statements by affected businesses. German lawmaker Peter Liese (pictured, left), the EPP group’s spokesperson connected situation said that the extremity of stopping planetary deforestation remains right, but a “bureaucratic monster weakens the acceptance of European biology policy.” French lawmaker Pascal Canfin (Renew Europe - pictured right) said the Commission’s determination was “deplorable” since the EU enforcement had had clip capable to set since the archetypal delay.

Policy Poll

Data brief