Resigned Prime Minister Rosen Zhelyazkov will participate today in the first Eastern Flank Summit, the government press service announced. The conference is part of broader efforts to strengthen Europe's defense posture and represents a key step in coordinating defense strategies between member states, especially on the eastern border of the European Union (EU), the statement quoted by BTA notes.
Among the topics that the leaders will discuss are defense readiness and threats to European security posed by Russian aggression against Ukraine, border security, the approach to defense against drones and airspace violations, and growing challenges, including those arising from hybrid attacks.
The meeting is hosted by Finnish Prime Minister Petteri Orpo and will be attended by leaders from seven EU member states – Bulgaria, Sweden, Estonia, Latvia, Poland, Romania and Lithuania.
In October, the European Commission and the EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy proposed to Member States a roadmap to 2030 for peacekeeping and defence readiness, the European Commission announced.
The document is a comprehensive plan to strengthen European defence capabilities. The roadmap, drawn up in response to a request from the European Council in June 2025, outlines clear objectives and milestones to address capability gaps, accelerate defence investment in Member States and progress towards full defence readiness by 2030.
The roadmap proposes four initial flagship initiatives – a European Drone Defence Initiative, Eastern Flank Surveillance, a European Air Shield and a European Space Shield. They will strengthen Europe's deterrence and defence capabilities on land, air, sea, cyberspace and space.