Sawt Falasteen - EU eyes tighter registration, no-fly zones to tackle drone threats

The spate of mysterious flights that shut airports, buzzed military bases and passed near nuclear sites laid bare gaps in Europe's security in the face of worries over the threat from Russia.

"We have seen that anything can be used as a weapon against us," said Henna Virkkunen, EU commissioner for tech and security.

"Drone and anti-drone capabilities are central components in defending Europe and securing critical infrastructure."

The new action plan announced by Brussels is meant to cover the civilian sector following the launch of an initiative to build a system of military counter-drone defences last year.

EU officials said that as part of the efforts they want to step up the mandatory registration of drones across the bloc to be able to better keep track of potential menaces.

"This will be focused in particular, on making sure that every drone can be linked to a particular operator," an official said.

The official said Brussels wanted to expand regulation to cover smaller drones, from the current lower limit of 250 grammes to 100 grammes.

The EU executive also wants to get member states to better map out no-fly zones around sensitive locations with the eventual intention of having software block drones from flying in those areas.

In a bid to improve detection, the officials said they want to help bolster the use of telecoms systems to spot drones and push for the development of AI to monitor for potentially suspect flights.

- 'Emergency teams' -

To test the bloc's readiness, officials said they were proposing launching annual "large-scale EU counter drone testing exercises".

Brussels would also discuss with EU member states establishing "rapid counter drone emergency teams" that could be dispatched quickly to help countries targeted.

While much of the strategy was focused on tackling drone threats, Brussels also said it wanted to improve regulation and channel funds into helping develop the bloc's drone manufacturing industry.

The wishlist from the EU lacked any concrete figures on possible investment and remained vague on how it would see all its goals implemented.

Officials admitted that tightening controls over drone flights would not prevent people intent on causing problems -- but they insisted it would help authorities quickly identify legitimate usage.

While officials have pointed the finger of suspicion at Moscow over last year's unexplained flights, there has so far been no concrete confirmation that the Kremlin was responsible.

P.Tamimi--SF-PST