Securing the air: how to enhance the EU’s resilience and security in the air domain?

The freedom of access and safety of the air domain are critical for the prosperity and the security of the European Union (EU) and its citizens. Trade in goods and tourism rely on the air domain, but it is also a domain that covers conflict zones and increasing congestion, plus new lost-cost technologies such as drone. Increasingly aggressive aerial postures in non-European airspaces and the rise of Anti-Access/Area Denial bubbles raise questions about the EU’s ability to protect air power in aid of its interests and values. It is time for the EU and its Member States to address the full spectrum of threats and challenges in the air domain.

With the aim of stimulating both an in-depth reflection of evolving nature of the air domain and advancing concrete policy recommendations, the EU Institute for Security Studies and the Permanent Representation of France to the EU organised an online seminar on 18 February 2022 to address security and resilience in the air. The event, which brought together more than 80 participants, was organised in the context of the French Presidency of the Council of the EU. Senior policymakers, academics and think tanker analysts looked at the state of play and way forward in EU air security.