Drone and anti-drone capabilities for border control must be developed in EU external border countries

Finland, together with Poland, Estonia, Lithuania and Latvia, has published a letter to the European Commission stressing the need to develop drone and anti-drone capabilities for border control in the countries on the EU's external border and to secure the funding for this.

"The geopolitical environment remains tense at the EU's external borders with Russia and Belarus, with security challenges continuing to persist and evolve. Offences where drones are used for smuggling and airspace violations by drones have increased in number. It is clear that the capacity to respond to and combat these threats must be strengthened in the countries on the EU's eastern external border. We are not protecting only our own borders but we also have a particular responsibility for the security of Europe as a whole," says Minister of the Interior Mari Rantanen.

In the view of the EU Member States that signed the letter, the development of drone and anti-drone capabilities for border control in the EU external border countries should be included in the priorities of the EU Instrument for Financial Support for Border Management and Visa Policy (BMVI) for 2021-2027. The BMVI supports the European integrated border management and the common visa policy.

Most of the EU's external land border is already secured with physical barriers and modern surveillance systems. Yet these measures alone are insufficient to effectively detect and prevent airspace violations by drones. The border authorities in the EU external border countries need more drones to perform their border surveillance duties, but other capabilities are also needed to identify, track and combat illegal or hostile drone activities.

Drones are unmanned aerial vehicles. The Finnish Border Guard already uses them in many of its duties, such as conducting border control, building situation awareness and searching for missing persons.

Inquiries:
Laura Yli-Vakkuri, Director General, tel. +358 40 720 2216, [email protected]