Leaders of the three Baltic States took part in the first Eastern Flank Summit, which was organised by Finnish Prime Minister Petteri Orpo, LETA reported. The summit was also attended by leaders from Bulgaria, Poland, Romania, and Sweden as well as EU defence commissioner Andrius Kubilius. Estonian Prime Minister Kristen Michal noted that Europe’s eastern border was the “first line of defence for the whole EU and NATO,” ERR reported. Latvian Prime Minister Evika Silina said that the eight countries would seek to “use different EU instruments” to bolster the defence of Europe’s eastern flank. She stressed the importance of strengthening land border protection and critical infrastructure security, developing air and missile defence capabilities, and improving military mobility, LETA reported. Lithuanian President Gitanas Nauseda warned that Europe should be prepared for a long-term strategic confrontation with Russia, BNS reported. Protecting the EU’s eastern border must be top priority in the EU’s next multiannual budget, he underlined. Earlier, Baltic prime ministers urged the EU to recognise the economic challenges of the eastern border regions, LETA reported.
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