European Union leaders are gathering for defence talks under tight security after a spate of drone sightings over Danish military sites forced temporary airport closures and prompted Copenhagen to denounce a “hybrid war”.

Denmark’s Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen blamed Russia for the incidents, imposed a week-long ban on civilian drones and drew on Swedish anti-drone technology, while a German frigate took station in Copenhagen. Officials are also weighing a “drone wall” along the bloc’s eastern flank as the summits unfold across Copenhagen and Brussels.

In Brussels, industry ministers are poised for a clash over a proposed €234 billion competitiveness fund, part of a broader debate on the European Union’s economic firepower. The European Commission has fielded around 3,000 queries from capitals on its draft long-term budget for 2028 to 2034, underscoring political sensitivities as governments haggle over priorities.

Migration policy is also in the frame, with the bloc considering stronger powers for the Frontex border agency to deepen cooperation with non-EU countries on transfers, after a German NGO rescue ship, Sea-Watch 5, was fired on by the Libyan Coast Guard for the second time in a month.

The security backdrop is grim. Ukraine endured a 12-hour bombardment that killed four people, including a child, and injured more than 70, while Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko mocked Polish airspace alerts and warned against any strike on Russian aircraft.