Clearing the skies: elevating European capabilities in drone and counter-drone systems

Past event In person

Peace, Security & Defence

12May2026

starts 18:40

ends 21:10

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Friends of Europe’s policymakers’ dinner on “Clearing the Skies: elevating European capabilities in drone and counter-drone systems” brought together over 30 frontline practitioners, EU and NATO officials, industry leaders and Ukrainian representatives to explore how drones and counter‑drone systems are redefining modern warfare – and what Europe must do to respond.

Friends of Europe was delighted to host Andrius Kubilius, European Commissioner for Defence and Space; Štefan Füle, former EU Commissioner for Enlargement, founder of U&C UAS, and Trustee of Friends of Europe; as well as senior officials, including from DG DEFIS, NATO’s D2IA, the European Defence Agency, the European Parliament, and representatives from national Permanent Representations and Missions to the EU.

Moderated by Dharmendra Kanani, Director of Policy & Programmes and Chief Spokesperson at Friends of Europe, the discussion centred on three interlocking challenges: overcoming Europe’s fragmented defence procurement, harnessing Ukraine’s wartime innovation ecosystem in drones, and building a coherent European defence ecosystems that integrates emerging technologies.

The photos of this event are available on Friends of Europe’s Flickr page.

This Policymakers’ Dinner was co-organised with U&C UAS.

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PHOTO CREDIT: Shutterstock| Es sarawuth

Schedule

19.10 21.10

Clearing the skies: elevating European capabilities in drone and counter-drone systems

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Expand Clearing the skies: elevating European capabilities in drone and counter-drone systems

How can Europe move from fragmented spending to scalable drone and counter-drone capability development?
What should be done to integrate Ukrainian expertise and firms into European procurement, testing and industrial planning?
Which regulatory, financial and industrial barriers most urgently need to change if Europe is to field affordable systems at speed?

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Speakers

Štefan Füle is a Czech politician and diplomat who previously served as the Czech Special Envoy to the OSCE and the Western Balkans. Having started his career in the Czech Ministry of Foreign Affairs, he worked as Czech Ambassador to Lithuania and to the UK, as well as becoming Czech Permanent Representative to NATO. In 2010, he became the EU Commissioner for Enlargement and European Neighbourhood Policy where he was instrumental in setting up and developing the Eastern Partnership with six countries in Eastern Europe and the South Caucasus. Füle is a Trustee of Friends of Europe and a member of the Ukraine Initiative Steering Group.

Liene Gātere, Parliamentary Secretary of the Ministry of Defence of the Republic of Latvia, has worked at the office of the Defence Minister Andris Sprūds since September 2023. Previously, she was Secretary General of the political party “Progressives”. Liene Gātere has more than 10 years of professional experience in crime prevention and has worked in NGOs and consulted international organizations. From 2017 to 2020, she was Head of the Latvian chapter of Transparency International. In parallel, since 2021, Liene has been teaching anti-corruption and good governance at the Riga Graduate School of Law.

Dharmendra Kanani is Director of Policy & Programmes and Chief Spokesperson at Friends of Europe. Prior to joining Friends of Europe, Dharmendra was director of policy at the European Foundation Centre (EFC). He was the England director at the Big Lottery Fund, the largest independent funder in the UK and fourth largest in the world. Dharmendra has held senior positions in the public and voluntary sectors and advisor to numerous ministerial policy initiatives across the UK.

Andrius Kubilius is a Lithuanian politician currently serving as European Commissioner for Defence and Space. He previously served as Prime Minister of Lithuania, and as a Member of the European Parliament. Andrius is the former leader of the conservative political party Homeland Union (Lithuanian Christian Democrats).

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