Action Plan on Drone and Counter Drone Security

Background

In February 2026, the European Commission presented an EU Action Plan on Drone and Counter Drone Security for a united approach against threats posed by malicious drones.

The plan focuses on the civilian internal security dimension and strengthens civil-military cooperation. It is structured around 4 pillars:

• Prepare: enhancing Europe’s preparedness and resilience against drone incidents
• Detect: boosting capacity to detect malicious drones
• Respond: stronger EU cooperation and solidarity
• Strengthen: Europe’s defence readiness against drone threats

The plan also contributes to developing a competitive and safe European drone market, by supporting Member States through coordinated action and complementing national measures.

Key points

The EESC:

• supports the objective of strengthening preparedness, detection and response capacities and deterring malicious drone use, while stressing that all measures must remain proportionate and consistent with fundamental rights, privacy, data protection, legal certainty and democratic accountability;
• underlines the urgent nature of the evolving drone and counter-drone threat environment, in light of rapid technological developments in recent conflicts and hybrid operations; 
• stresses that aviation and public safety must remain the overriding priority when designing and implementing counter-drone measures, preserving the operational integrity of the European Air Traffic Management (ATM) system;
• emphasises the management, operational and human dimension of drone and counter-drone systems;
• welcomes the strengthening of the European industrial and technological base in drones and counter-drone systems and recognises the low-altitude economy as an opportunity for building future European economic advantages and as a driver for innovation, competitiveness and export opportunities;
• supports measures to protect critical infrastructure, including stress testing, deployment of counter-drone systems and joint procurement, while stressing that economic, operational, legal, liability and workforce implications, especially for smaller operators, must be assessed.

Additional information

Section: Transport, Energy, Infrastructure and the Information Society (TEN)

Opinion number: TEN/883

Opinion type: Optional

Referral: COM(2026) 81 final

Rapporteur: Miroslav Hajnoš (Group II - Slovakia)

Date of adoption by section: 24 June 2026

Result of the vote: 86 in favour, 0 against, 0 abstentions

Date of adoption in plenary: 15-16 July 2026

Result of the vote: XXX in favour, X against, X abstentions

Contact

Marco Pezzani

Press Officer

Tel.: +32 2 546 9793 | Mob: +32 470 881 903

E-mail: marco.pezzani@eesc.europa.eu 

Albert Precup

Administrator

Tel.: +32 546 9326

E-mail: albert.precup@eesc.europa.eu