“Aerial surveillance and, in particular, military aerial surveillance, does not fall within the competence of the EU and is a matter of national competence of each individual member state”, the Commissioner for Transport, Adina Vălean, said on Tuesday in a written answer addressed to Renew Europe MEP Engin Eroglu. “The EU has not been informed by any member state about the detection of a Chinese surveillance balloon over its territory,” she added.
In February, the US shot down what it identified as a Chinese surveillance balloon, raising tensions between Washington and Beijing. After this incident, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken postponed a visit to China.
At the time, EU institutions recognized the US right to defend its airspace, and Estonia was one of the few European countries that publicly supported the decision of the Biden administration.
In the Commission’s written response, Adina Vălean qualified the unauthorized spy balloons as “irresponsible behavior”.
“However, it is clear that the deployment of surveillance balloons – or other unmanned aerial vehicles – without the permission of the authorities in the affected country, can be perceived as an act of irresponsible behavior that can increase international tensions,” she wrote.
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