site.btaMinister Zapryanov to Attend Meetings of EU Foreign Affairs/Defence Council and European Defence Agency's Steering Board

Caretaker Minister of Defence Atanas Zapryanov will take part in the meetings of the Foreign Affairs/Defence Council of the European Union and the Steering Board of the European Defence Agency, which will be held Tuesday in Brussels, Belgium, the press centre of the Ministry of Defence said.

The Council meeting will start with a discussion of issues related to EU military support to Ukraine, including the Ukraine Support Fund, the European Peace Facility, the EU Military Assistance Mission to Ukraine (EUMAM Ukraine) and the use of the extraordinary proceeds from frozen Russian assets in support of Ukraine.

Later, the Defence Ministers will be briefed on the progress of the EU Rapid Deployment Capability (RDC) operational readiness process and the outcome of the strategic review of the Permanent Structured Defence Cooperation.

The forum will conclude with a discussion on the Union's defence preparedness. Defence ministers are expected to discuss ongoing initiatives to support the European defence industrial and technological base, as well as ways to address critical defence capability gaps and opportunities for cooperation in this area. They will also express their views on the recommendations of the report on EU civil and military preparedness prepared by the Special Adviser to the President of the European Commission, Sauli Niinisto.

During the meeting of the European Defence Agency's Steering Board, the ministers will discuss issues related to the Agency's budget for 2025 and the draft report of the Coordinated Annual Review on Defence.

The agenda also includes the signing of letters of intent for cooperation in four priority areas for joint defence capability building.