Following the discovery of a drone packed with explosives at the Halle/Leipzig airport, defence politician Bastian Ernst (CDU) has called for consultations under Article 4 of the NATO treaty. Speaking to the “Handelsblatt” (Friday edition), Ernst stated that it is clear Germany is in a situation now that necessitates activating Article 4, noting that allied countries have already done so. He argued that this action would be a signal that Germany will not be intimidated and will act jointly with its partners.
Article 4 allows any member state to request consultations if its territorial integrity, security, or political independence is threatened by outside forces. This call follows the fact that both Estonia and Poland requested similar consultations last year after experiencing massive airspace violations.
However, Dirk Wiese, the First Parliamentary Secretary of the SPD faction, pointed out that the coalition government has already put numerous laws in place to protect critical infrastructure, including the Critical Infrastructure Roof Act, air safety law, and the Federal Police Law, while also setting up a dedicated drone defense center. Wiese told the newspaper, “We must constantly develop our security measures to meet the threat level; there is a new quality of danger.”
At the same time, Wiese sharply criticized the AfD, noting that in the context of this incident, it seemed even more perfidious that key AfD figures such as Tino Chrupalla had recently expressed doubt regarding the mere existence or the acute threat of drones over Germany.
