Defence Minister’s participation in the EU Foreign Affairs Council (Defence) Meeting

Defence Minister's participation in the EU Foreign Affairs Council (Defence) Meeting

On Tuesday, May 12th, Minister of National Defence, Radu Miruță, participated, in Brussels, in the of the EU Foreign Affairs Council (Defence) Meeting.

Romania's main message was related to the importance of recalibrating, at European and Allied level, the capabilities to counter air threats generated by the Russian Federation's actions against Ukraine, in the context of the recent incidents with the Russian drones that entered the national airspace without authorization.

The meeting's agenda included current topics regarding European security and strengthening EU's defence capacity, with emphasis on assessing threats posed to European security, continuing military support to Ukraine, the security situation in the Middle East, and increasing defence preparedness at European level.

In the context of the exchange of views on the Comprehensive Threat Analysis, the Minister of National Defence welcomed the document updated at EU level in 2026, which also reflected the security situation in the Black Sea region.

During the discussions, Minister Miruță mentioned the high number of incidents of European and Allied airspace violation by drones used in the context of Russia's war in Ukraine, specifying that this is also happening in Romania. The official mentioned the recent incident caused by the fall of drone fragments, carrying an explosive charge, in the municipality of Galați. The Minister indicated that, since the beginning of the year, there have been 14 incidents in which Russian drones entered Romania, three of which carried an explosive charge. They have thus violated the European and Euro-Atlantic airspace. The Romanian Minister emphasized that, although geography determines a different perception of such threats, it is necessary to approach them as a common challenge, which targets the entire European security.

Regarding the support for Ukraine, the Romanian official reiterated the importance of maintaining a coordinated and predictable support for strengthening the defence capacity of the Ukrainian state, emphasizing the need for a centralized and coherent approach at European level, taking into account the challenges posed by the Russian Federation's war of aggression, as well as the importance of EU-NATO coordination on this subject.

With regard to the efforts to increase industrial production in cooperation with Ukraine, Minister Miruță supported the opportunity to advance the joint ventures model, indicating that EU institutions can facilitate the member states' efforts of alongside Ukraine. He emphasized the opportunity to increase production capacities in the EU through a better mapping of existing industrial facilities throughout the European territory and their interconnection by increasing synergies, cumulating their added value, because numerous facilities, even if they do not have manufacturing technologies, could contribute through testing, evaluation and certificate options.

NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte and the Ukrainian Minister of Defence Mykhailo Fedorov also participated in this session.

Also today, during the EDA Steering Committee, defence ministers discussed strengthening the Agency's role with a view to supporting the current defence needs of the member states. The main lines of action in this regard are the gradual enhancement of innovation and experimentation functions, joint procurement, capability development and defence policy development.

The defence ministers expressed their support for the progressive operationalization of this new vision, which aims to optimize internal organization and make more flexible use of existing resources, in order to face more effectively the current and future challenges.

The Press Office