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On 11 February 2026, the Commission presented a new Action Plan on Drone and Counter Drone Security[1] designed to support Member States in boosting Europe’s defence readiness through innovation and industrial cooperation.

Part of a broader set of initiatives brought forward by the Commission to reinforce the Union’s internal security and defence priorities[2], the Plan finds its rationale in the fact that the recent incidents involving malicious or irresponsible use of drones entail growing security challenges for the Union. Despite the use of airborne drones is governed since 2019 by a harmonised regulatory framework, drones have been repeatedly used trespassing on Member States’ airspace, disrupting airport operations and causing near misses with civilian aircraft. The Plan focuses primarily on the civilian internal security side, where important gaps and loopholes remain to be taken care of, recommending actions that can be implemented in the short-term while also designing measures for longer-term preparedness.

The Plan is built around 4 key priorities.

First, since drones are evolving rapidly in terms of, amongst the others, speed, range, payload, autonomy and resistance to electronic warfare, counter-drone systems must also adapt fast to keep up with these improvements. Given the urgent need to increase coherence between the several EU instruments and national investments with a view to avoid overlaps, the Commission proposes a coordinated framework to boost the technological development and the production of drones and counter-drone systems building on i) investing where it really matters, ii) a new approach to testing innovative solutions, iii)  targeting safety requirements and a certification model for counter-drone systems, iv) interoperability, and v) a drones and counter-drone systems production increase. Moreover, the Commission will, on the one hand, propose a Drone Security Package to adapt the airborne drone framework to nowadays’ security realities and, on the other hand, present regulatory simplification measures for drones aimed at introducing flexibility with regard to, amongst other things, the need of pre-approval by authorities and the associated administrative red tape. Finally, the Commission will issue non-binding guidelines for resilience-enhancing measures, including on countering threats posed by drones and the use of geofencing functionalities[3].

Second, detection, tracking and identification are fundamental in the fight against malicious drone activities, to improve situational awareness of drone operations. Member States, therefore, should ensure that relevant data is shared among competent authorities in civil aviation, law enforcement and the military, thereby allowing to monitor and assess threat levels and ensure a faster response and enforcement against drone operators that do not respect security measures. Moreover, the Commission will launch a call for expressions of interest to Member States and industry to live test and deploy cellular based detection systems including 5G networks, which offer precise and real-time tracking of flying objects.

Third, while operational incident response falls on Member States, coordinated actions at EU level can support them in deploying effective counter-drone solutions, so that a multi-layered approach combining several technical measures to counter the large spectrum of threats posed by non-cooperative drones. More particularly, since, in light of the evolving security situation, critical infrastructures need to be equipped with state-of-the-art latest counter-drone equipment and systems, the Commission will work with Member States to launch an EU Counter-drone Deployment Initiative for Critical Infrastructures as well as to set up Rapid Counter-drone Emergency Response Teams acting as rapidly deployable reserve units and equipped with the latest technologies for detection and response. Moreover, the Commission will support Frontex in training drone and counter-drone pilots, organizing live demonstrations and prize-based innovation challenges in realistic border settings, thereby enhancing the integration of drones and counter-drone skills. The framework of the 2023 Communication on countering threats posed by drones[4] should also be expanded towards a set of common binding and non-binding rules for Member State authorities, private operators and all players involved.

Finally, the Plan highlights the need to further strengthen Europe’s defence readiness to counter drone threats. More particularly, efforts at European level should lead to a comprehensive drone and counter-drone capability and offer a multi-layered and multi-level overarching approach supporting decision-making processes and ensuring a continuous situational awareness. Member States will also need to invest into a mass production capacity for drones and counter-drone systems either to actively deploy them or to stock-pile them as strategic reserve.

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On 26 February 2026, the Commission presented a new Agenda[1] putting forward a comprehensive set of cross-sectoral initiatives to prevent and counter terrorism by stepping up the EU preparedness and response. Announced in the ProtectEU action[2], the Agenda finds its rationale in the fact that the increasing links between terrorism and other crime areas, as well as the blurred lines between online and physical operations, pose a particular challenge to defining and identifying terrorist offences. Despite the EU has already taken steps to tackle terrorism and violent extremism, the overall threat level remains high, requiring a single action at EU level. The Agenda combines ongoing and new initiatives to keep up with the fast-evolving landscape, anticipate threats, prevent radicalisation, protect people both online and offline and strengthen the global fight against terrorism in line with international law. The Agenda is built around six pillars.

First, the Agenda highlights that the dynamic nature of emerging threats requires, on the one hand, strengthened law enforcement anticipation capabilities and, on the other hand, the ability to identify the risks and opportunities stemming from new technologies. The Agenda, therefore, proposes measures to improve situational awareness and the early detection of emerging threats such as, amongst others, increasing the resources and capacities of intelligence analysis of the EU Single Intelligence Analysis Capacity (SIAC)[3], reinforcing Europol’s analytical support capacities, including open-source intelligence (OSINT) ones, and supporting the testing and deployment of EU-funded solutions to equip law enforcement with state-of-the-art tools.

Second, preventing radicalisation requires a holistic approach and long-term strategies. In particular, minors’ involvement in radicalisation and terrorism affects not only the minors concerned, but likewise communities and society. To prevent minors being radicalised across Europe, the Commission will build on the activities of the Knowledge Hub on Prevention of Radicalisation[4] and focus on early detection, resilience through education and social integration to provide strategic guidance. The Hub will also develop tools to assess and manage risks in the pre-release phase of prisoners who have served their sentence but may have been radicalised. Finally, the Commission will launch a Community Engagement and Empowerment Programme (CEEP) allocating EUR 5 million to equip civil society and practitioners with digital skills for effective online interventions and to amplify the voices of youth engaged in prevention.

Third, despite the EU has built one of the most advanced regulatory frameworks in the world to counter terrorist activity online, extremist networks tend to adapt quickly, exploit emerging technologies and shift from open platforms to closed chats and encrypted services. To ensure people online are adequately protected, the Commission will consider revising the Terrorist Content Online Regulation[5] to keep it fit for purpose and enforcing the Digital Services Act (DSA)[6]. Furthermore, the Commission will upgrade the EU Crisis Protocol[7] into an EU Online Crisis Response Framework to be relied on by Member States where an incident leads to heightened online activity related to an attack and to anchor it in the DSA environment, thereby ensuring a coordinated response to crises.

The Commission also intends to make sure people are protected in the physical environment. Since timely access to data is cardinal to identifying foreign terrorist fighters and terrorist suspects at borders, the Commission, together with Europol, will strengthen cooperation with trusted third countries to obtain biographic and biometric data on individuals that might pose a terrorist threat, for them to be inserted into the Schengen Information System (SIS) in full compliance with applicable EU and national legal frameworks. Furthermore, the Commission will explore options to expand the framework on advanced travel information to include private flights, maritime and land transport, which is currently limited to commercial air transport thereby resulting in legal and operational loopholes that terrorists may exploit to move across the EU.

Fourth, to ensure a swift and coordinated response to terrorist threats and attacks, the law enforcement and judicial agencies need to be further strengthened across Europe, and further efforts are called for to close the remaining gaps and foreclose counter terrorist financing. In this regard, the Commission will launch a study to assess and identify the appropriate measures to establish a future EU-wide system to enable the retrieval of financial data for the purpose of tracking terrorist financing and organised crime as well as revise Europol and Eurojust’s mandates. Moreover, the Commission will support closer cooperation and information sharing between financial intelligence units, law enforcement, financial institutions and online service providers. Finally, since the external and internal dimensions of terrorism and violent extremism are intrinsically linked, the Commission will strengthen international cooperation with trusted partner countries following a human-rights based approach.  

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On 26 February 2026, the Commission presented a Proposal[1] for a Directive to combat firearms trafficking and other firearms-related offences in the EU.

Part of ProtectEU[2], the Proposal finds its rationale in the fact that criminal demand and access to firearms, which pose a serious threat to EU citizens’ security as they enable a wide range of serious and organised crimes, are increasing and leading to more violent accidents in some Member States. Despite the EU has engaged at international level in actions to control firearms, there are still significant differences among Member States in how firearm-related crimes are defined and punished, leading to a fragmented legal framework across the Union. The Proposal aims to protect European citizens from the threat of illicit firearms by reducing their number and the related criminal activities, harmonising firearm offences and penalties across Member States and improving data quality and availability to better understand and address the threat.

The Proposal introduces harmonised definitions for offenses such as, amongst the others, illicit manufacturing, trafficking and possession of firearms or falsification and modification of markings on firearms[3]. Member States should take the necessary measures to ensure that such criminal offences are punishable by effective, proportionate and dissuasive criminal penalties, setting an upper limit depending on the type of offence[4]. Member States should ensure that also legal persons can be held liable for the criminal offences committed for their benefit by a person who has a leading position therein and who acts individually or as part of one of their organs on the basis of a power of representation, an authority to take decisions on their behalf or an authority to exercise control[5].

Member States will need to adopt, within their national legal systems, the measures necessary to prevent the illicit manufacturing and trafficking in firearms, their essential components and ammunition seized and confiscated by their authorities from falling into the hands of unauthorised persons[6]. Moreover, they should also take the necessary measures to provide for a sufficient limitation period after the commission of the criminal offences, to be related to their gravity, enabling for the investigation, prosecution, trial and adjudication of those offences to be tackled effectively[7].

Each Member State should establish its jurisdiction over the criminal offences of which the Proposal is comprised, where the offence was committed i) in whole or in part within its territory, ii) on board a ship or an aircraft registered in that Member State or flying its flag, or iii) by one of its nationals. A Member State should inform the Commission where it decides to extend its jurisdiction to one or more criminal offences committed outside its territory, where i) the offender is a habitual resident therein, ii) the offence is committed for the benefit of a legal person established in its territory or in respect of any business done in whole or in part on its territory, or iii) the offence is committed against one or more of its nationals or habitual residents. Where a criminal offence falls within the jurisdiction of more than one Member State, they should cooperate to determine which one is to conduct the criminal proceedings[8].

Each Member State will designate a single National Firearms Focal Point for coordination and cooperation among all its competent authorities involved in the prevention of, and the fight against, firearms-related criminal offences, provided with an appropriate structure as well as sufficient staff and resources to ensure their continuous operation and effective functioning[9].

Finally, the Proposal introduces new measures to improve the collection and standardisation of available data on firearms. More particularly, Member States should ensure that firearms seized by law enforcement or other competent agencies are registered using the minimum dataset set out in the Annex, which was developed in cooperation with practitioners and includes basic information such as the model and type of firearm[10]. Moreover, Member States should gather existing statistical data in relation to the several firearms-related offences through a digital system and share it with the Commission every five years[11].

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