The paper includes speaking notes for the session on “Central-Eastern Europe’s Positioning and Perspectives of the European Union’s Transformation” of the conference “The EU, Central and Eastern Europe and Ukraine: Transformation, Prognosis and Perspectives,” conducted on 16 November 2012 in Kyiv, Ukraine. It addresses selected issues of the current status of the EU in the persisting financial and economic crisis, respective developments in Bulgaria and other countries in South Eastern Europe, and possible implications for Ukraine, with focus on security policies and governance.