Finland convening summit of EU Eastern Flank countries

A group of EU countries located closest to Russia’s borders plans to begin work next week on concrete measures to strengthen defense capabilities, as Moscow poses too great a threat.

According to Ukrinform, Bloomberg reported this.

“Next week, a group of European Union countries closest to Russia will start work on concrete measures for how to boost the bloc’s defenses against their belligerent eastern neighbor,” Finnish Prime Minister Petteri Orpo said.

Speaking on Finnish television, Orpo noted that the Eastern Flank summit, which he is convening in Helsinki on December 16 aims to reach agreements on cooperation in developing defense capabilities and to form a common position within the EU for this group of countries.

Leaders of Sweden, Poland, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Romania, and Bulgaria will take part in the summit.

“Russia is the threat today, tomorrow and long into the future. The biggest pressure is on the eastern edges of Europe,” Orpo said.

The group plans to apply for EU funding to be used for the defense needs of the eastern flank, including enhancing border security, air defense, detection and countering of drones, and the development of ground forces, Orpo added.

As previously reported by Ukrinform, Finland will purchase advanced AIM-120D-3 (AMRAAM) medium-range air-to-air missiles from the United States.

Photo: Unsplash / aboodi vesakaran