The European Union needs to ensure broader capabilities for countering air and maritime threats, Head of European Diplomacy Kaja Kallas stated on Tuesday, Report informs.
According to her, the EU is promoting the joint development and procurement of necessary assets, including within the framework of the drone development coalition.
"The Eastern Flank Watch initiative envisions strengthening surveillance and defense from the Baltic to the Black Sea in close coordination with NATO," Kallas emphasized.
She also pointed out the problem of mine contamination in the Black Sea basin.
"Within the European Defence Agency, EU states are already cooperating in the development of next-generation naval mine countermeasures, as well as unmanned maritime systems," Kallas noted.
She added that the EU is working with international partners, including Türkiye, India, and other countries, including food-importing African states, and generally with the countries of the Global South, seeking to conclude an agreement on freedom of navigation in the Black Sea.
"Such an agreement would make it possible to protect human lives and vital supplies," Kallas concluded.