Leaders from eight EU countries bordering Russia will gather in Helsinki on Tuesday to demand greater EU funding for defence, warning that repeated airspace violations and drone incursions point to a growing threat along the bloc’s eastern border.
Finnish prime minister Petteri Orpo will host the first-ever Eastern Flank summit, bringing together leaders from Finland, Sweden, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Romania, and Bulgaria as concern rises over Russia’s actions along the EU’s frontier.
Regional governments say a series of recent incidents justify their concerns. Russian fighter jets have entered Estonian airspace in recent months, while drones linked to Moscow crossed into Polish and Romanian territory. Authorities in Lithuania also reported repeated air traffic disruptions after objects launched from neighbouring Belarus drifted across the border.
The European Commission has proposed a sharp increase in defence spending in its 2028–2034 budget, but eastern states want clear guarantees that Brussels will direct part of that funding towards border infrastructure, air defence, and counter-drone systems.
Polish prime minister Donald Tusk has described cooperation among Nordic, Baltic and eastern EU states as a central pillar of regional security. Leaders from Romania and Bulgaria have also called on the EU to move faster on measures addressing airspace violations and hybrid threats.
The push comes as European capitals reassess their reliance on the United States for security. Many worry that any pause in fighting in Ukraine could allow Russia to rebuild its forces and redirect pressure toward the EU’s eastern border.
