For at least three years now, the European Commission has been quietly monitoring “unidentified anomalous phenomena” (UAP)—formerly known as UFOs—Euronews reported on Monday, featuring accounts from pilots about incidents over Greece and Cyprus.
The report cites a response sent by the European Commission’s Defense Department to two amateur astronomers in Malaysia —a father and son—who had sent images to Brussels of 37 UAPs they had spotted in the sky and space using their telescope.
ΣΧΕΤΙΚΑ ΑΡΘΡΑ
“We have also detected various signals from above via the Wi-Fi frequencies of local networks,” wrote the duo from Malaysia.
In its response, the European Commission stated that it has no jurisdiction over incidents involving Malaysia.
However, it notes that “we are getting better at detecting (UAPs) and identifying them more accurately as our technological capabilities improve, but we need to get even better.”
According to Euronews, the letter suggests that Brussels is monitoring such phenomena more actively than has been officially acknowledged.
The two Malaysian astronomers appear to be Anamali Muthu and his son, Arab Anamali, who had also contacted NASA, the ESA, and other space agencies in 2022, the same year they contacted the European Commission.
The two astronomers had told The Vibes at the time that NASA had encouraged them to expand and document their observations.
The term UAP was introduced by the U.S. Department of Defense in August 2020, when Washington established the UAP Task Force, with the aim of investigating unexplained incidents in restricted airspace.
The issue took on greater significance following a 2017 report by the New York Times, which revealed that the U.S. Department of Defense’s archives contained footage of UFOs recorded during military flights.
Although there is no evidence that these phenomena are of extraterrestrial origin or are hostile, high-tech drones, the U.S. government is now asking its military personnel not to hesitate to report such incidents, which could potentially threaten national security.
Recently, the Trump administration appointed a Scientific Advisory Board on UAPs, chaired by Harvard astronomer Avi Loeb, known for his provocative claims about extraterrestrial spacecraft in the Solar System.
In Europe, the discussion centers on potential risks to air traffic.
According to Euronews, France is the only EU country with a specialized, state-funded center for monitoring and investigating UFOs: GEIPAN (Groupe d’Études et d’Informations sur les Phénomènes Aérospatiaux Non Identifiés), or the Study and Information Group on Unidentified Aerospace Phenomena.
Since its founding in 1977, GEIPAN has analyzed more than 3,300 UAP cases, of which 106 have been classified as unexplained. Another 1,014 cases remain unsolved due to insufficient evidence.
On June 29, the French Parliament held an important debate on UFOs. The debate focused on the work being carried out by GEIPAN and the French Air and Space Force, as well as the possibility of cooperation with the U.S. to ensure “answers from public authorities.”
“We want to move beyond sensationalism and fantasy and, instead, address in a serious and rational manner an issue that is generating significant interest,” French lawmaker Arnaud Saint-Martin told Le Parisien.
Euronews reports that the EU is monitoring UFOs, but notes that “despite repeated calls for a standard reporting procedure for UAPs, the European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) stated that it already has a framework in place for reporting ‘any incident that may have an impact on aviation safety,’ including UAPs.
“Pilots and other aviation personnel are encouraged to report anything they consider to be a potential safety risk, regardless of its nature,” EASA told Euronews.
“At this time, EASA has not identified any evidence to suggest that reports of UAPs constitute a systemic aviation safety issue requiring additional measures,” it added.
UFOs in Mykonos and Cyprus
Euronews also spoke with European pilots who say they have encountered unexplained phenomena.
Christian van Heist, 43, a Boeing 747 captain with more than 20 years of experience, described four incidents he witnessed between 2005 and 2010.
One of these occurred late at night in Greece in 2005, most likely on the island of Mykonos.
“After landing at night, we made a turn on the runway, and during the turn, we saw a bright light in the sky at an extremely high altitude. It moved in an instant, disappeared, reappeared, traveled roughly the same distance, and disappeared again—about three times,” said the Dutch pilot.
“Before it appeared, [the light] was about twice as far away, and suddenly it shot forward at an instantaneous and incredible speed, without accelerating: it simply gained speed instantly and disappeared from our field of vision.”
Van Heist noted, however, that on that night he was passing through the Mediterranean, en route to the Persian Gulf, the USS Theodore Roosevelt aircraft carrier strike group was passing through the Mediterranean that night, in preparation for the Second Gulf War.
“This was mentioned in the notices to airmen (NOTAMs), among other things (…) It is not known whether these events are related,” van Heist said.
A second incident in Cyprus was described by Rob Ackermans, a pilot for a Dutch airline, who reported having seen several UFOs.
“There were two pilots and four cabin crew members on a flight in 2023 from the Middle East to the Netherlands. For more than two hours, starting around 19:30 UTC, we observed this strange phenomenon, which struck us as truly remarkable,” said Akermans, noting that all six crew members observed the phenomenon from the cockpit.
“It began while we were south of Cyprus. Exactly on a heading of 300 degrees (magnetic north), at an angle of elevation of about 25 to 30 degrees, and at a very high altitude, we saw a light suddenly become very bright and then slowly fade. After that, this happened more and more frequently, often with one or two additional lights, which also became bright and then faded away,” the Dutchman recounted.
“The strangest thing was that one of the three lights would sometimes maneuver around the others. It looked like a chase—what the air force calls dogfights—and then two or even all three would disappear again,” he said.
“At first, we thought it might be some kind of military mission over the Balkans, but when we reached the Balkans, we witnessed the same spectacle — it was still in the same direction, at the same angle, and at a very high altitude. “After about 21:30 UTC, the lights suddenly disappeared at an incredible speed, and we never saw them again,” he added.
Akerman said that the next day, one of his colleagues observed the same phenomenon from the garden of his home in the Netherlands.
Source: in.gr
