Leaders of eight European Union countries on Tuesday stressed the importance of significantly strengthening security at Europes eastern external border. The leaders met at the Eastern Flank Summit at the House of the Estates in Helsinki and called for the Unions support in building credible and united defence capabilities along the border with Russia from north to south, said a government press release. “The countries of the European Union have jointly affirmed that Russia poses a long-term threat to all of Europe. Europe is being defended on its eastern edge. This means that the eastern border regions must play a key role in the EUs defence projects. Our task is to ensure that the issue stays high on the agenda and is understood at the EU level,” said Prime Minister Petteri Orpo, who hosted the summit. At the summit, the leaders agreed that Finland and Poland would be responsible for coordinating the project to strengthen the collective defence of the EUs eastern flank. Alongside measures at the national level, it is important that the countries on the eastern edge of Europe intensify their cooperation within the EU and NATO. “No one is going to do this on our behalf. United defence capabilities along the entire border with Russia will increase stability and security throughout Europe,” said Orpo. Presidents Nicușor Dan of Romania and Gitanas Nausėda of Lithuania and Prime Ministers Rossen Jeliazkov of Bulgaria, Ulf Kristersson of Sweden, Kristen Michal of Estonia, Evika Siliņa of Latvia and Donald Tusk of Poland attended the summit. At the summit, President Alexander Stubb gave an overview of the recent peace negotiations in Ukraine in Berlin. EU Commissioner for Defence Andrius Kubilius briefed the leaders on EU support programmes for eastern Member States. The leaders also heard a presentation from Commander of the Finnish Defence Forces Janne Jaakkola. The EUs Defence Readiness Roadmap 2030 includes a number of concrete measures to strengthen defence. In their discussions in Helsinki, the leaders stressed the importance of prioritising the eastern edge of the Union, especially through projects under the Eastern Flank Watch initiative. The aim of the initiative is to build multi-domain defence capabilities including ground combat capabilities, drone defence, border protection and military mobility. “The defence and security of Europes external border must be based on coherent and credible capabilities from the Arctic region to the Black Sea and the Mediterranean. Our approach must also be compatible with NATOs capabilities,” Orpo added.