Von der Leyen Heads to Lithuania for Baltic Drone Talks as EU Pushes Shared Defense
Updated
Updated · POLITICO Europe · May 24
Von der Leyen Heads to Lithuania for Baltic Drone Talks as EU Pushes Shared Defense
8 articles · Updated · POLITICO Europe · May 24
Tuesday’s visit will bring Ursula von der Leyen to Lithuania for talks with Baltic leaders on coordinating the response to repeated drone incursions, according to three officials familiar with the plan.
Those incursions have been serious enough that residents were told to seek safety in basements and bomb shelters, turning the meetings into an urgent security discussion rather than a routine show of support.
Defense Commissioner Andrius Kubilius is also due in Lithuania, and officials said the trip will pair solidarity with efforts to strengthen joint defense capabilities through the Commission’s financing and planning schemes.
The visit underscores how border security concerns in the Baltic states are increasingly feeding into broader EU defense coordination and spending plans.
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