HELSINKI — Eight EU countries on the front line with Russia demanded Tuesday that Brussels accelerate its upcoming counter-drone and border defense initiatives amid ongoing opposition to the projects by some European capitals.

Their call for “immediate prioritization” of two projects proposed by Brussels as part of its plans to make the bloc war-ready by 2030 comes ahead of a crucial summit of the EU’s 27 countries on Thursday that could determine their fate.

“Russia remains a threat to Europe today, tomorrow and in the near future,” said Finnish Prime Minister Petteri Orpo, who convened Tuesday’s gathering. “The build-up of European defence will not happen or continue unless we, as states on the EU’s eastern border, make our voices heard.”

The two so-called flagship projects, dubbed the Eastern Flank Watch and European Drone Defence Initiative, were first floated by the European Commission in October as part of its “roadmap” to make the EU ready for war with Russia by the end of the decade.

Referencing the projects and the bloc’s broader defense plans, Orpo said he was “confident that we will continue this discussion at the upcoming European Council later this week.”

But an official from the French Elysée told reporters Tuesday that “discussions on flagship defense projects are not planned” at Thursday’s meeting. Instead, the official added, countries are “organizing ourselves intergovernmentally and through the NATO process.”

The initiatives need endorsement from EU leaders before they can be launched early next year. Alongside France, the projects also previously received a lukewarm reception from countries like Germany and Hungary, who see the plans as a potential power grab by Brussels.

EU leaders failed to endorse the initiatives at the last summit in October, and so far, have not indicated they would shift their stance, according to draft summit conclusions seen by POLITICO and dated Dec. 16.

There was more consensus among the countries attending Tuesday’s summit — Finland, Sweden, Poland, Estonia, Lithuania, Latvia, Romania and Bulgaria — who also agreed the flagship projects should ideally fund ground combat capabilities, drone air and drone defense, border protection efforts and easing military mobility across the bloc.

“This is one of the most solid and responsible political formats,” Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk told reporters after the summit. “We have very challenging neighborhood countries and we understand each other really, really perfectly … It means that it’s pretty easy for all of us to cooperate.”

Frozen out

That display of unity was somewhat overshadowed by one anomaly in the group.

Last week, Bulgaria signed a letter, alongside Malta and Italy, voicing its opposition to the EU’s plan to unblock a €210 billion loan for Ukraine drawing on Russia’s frozen assets — a proposal that’s likely to be determined at the meeting of the bloc’s 27 countries on Thursday.

In the closed-door meeting of the frontline leaders on Tuesday, Bulgaria’s outgoing Prime Minister Rosen Zhelyazkov remained silent as his counterparts expressed their support for the frozen assets plan, according to a person inside the room, who was granted anonymity to speak freely.

But others played down that division. “I’m not frustrated because Bulgaria internally has been in a very difficult situation politically,” Latvian Prime Minister Evika Siliņa said in an interview, referencing the fact Zhelyazkov resigned last week amid mass protests against his government.

“It’s good that actually the prime minister came today and showed his unity because it’s important that we can work together,” she told POLITICO.

Gabriel Gavin contributed to this report from Brussels.