Despite earlier reports, Hungary joins EU talks on drone wall at eastern borders

Contrary to initial claims that Hungary and Slovakia were left out, Hungarian representatives did take part in a high-level EU meeting on Friday about building a so-called “drone wall” to protect the bloc’s eastern borders.

Hungary also took part in the conference

According to HVG, the videoconference, led by European Commissioner for Defence and Space Andrius Kubilius, gathered NATO officials, EU representatives, Ukraine’s Defence Minister Denys Shmyhal, and defence ministers from nine frontline states, including Hungary, Slovakia, Poland, Romania, Bulgaria, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, and Finland.

The talks followed a series of incidents in September, when at least 19 Russian drones violated Polish airspace. In response, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen proposed the creation of a coordinated drone defence system.

Design of the drone wall to begin

At the meeting, member states agreed to move from discussions to concrete action, beginning the design of the drone wall immediately. The system would integrate radars, acoustic sensors, and a detector network to spot and neutralise low-flying drones, which traditional air defences struggle to intercept.