E5 Leaders Pledge Stronger European NATO Ahead of Trump Meeting

BERLIN — The leaders of Germany, France, Italy, the U.K. and Poland pledged to strengthen NATO's European pillar ahead of a Wednesday meeting between the chief of the alliance and U.S. President Donald Trump.

The leaders of the so-called E5 group met in Berlin to coordinate a joint position ahead of next month’s NATO summit in Ankara. They also discussed support for Ukraine as Russia faces setbacks on the battlefield and as Trump, after months focused largely on Iran, pledged increased backing for Kyiv at last week's G7 summit in France.

“This is a really important moment to ramp up the pressure on [Russia’s] economy with more sanctions and providing Ukraine with more military support,” outgoing British Prime Minister Keir Starmer told reporters in Berlin.

“We are committed to driving this forward, and that this should be the first item on the agenda at the NATO summit in a couple of weeks. The second key issue at the summit must be building a more European NATO,” he added.

NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte, who is set to meet Trump later on Wednesday, joined the leaders' discussions via video call. He is expected to convey their message directly in a meeting that is likely to be a balancing act.

“We want more cooperation, both transatlantic and within Europe," said German Chancellor Friedrich Merz. "For us Germans, this stems from our history, our geography and our constitution. Our neighbors should feel safer when Germany grows stronger.”

The leaders pledged "a stronger European role within NATO with Europe taking greater responsibility for our shared transatlantic security," and committed to increased European defense cooperation by, for example, stepping up joint efforts to develop and procure deep precision strike capabilities, as per a joint statement.

Trump has repeatedly criticized European allies for what he sees as insufficient support for the U.S.-Israeli war against Iran, also known as Operation Epic Fury. But his recent turn on Ukraine also appears to have raised European leaders' optimism.

"We are at a point in time when Europeans and Americans are growing closer again," said French President Emmanuel Macron.

Over dinner, the E5 leaders are expected to discuss how to deal with Russia and who should speak for Europe if Moscow signals it is ready to engage in peace negotiations with Kyiv.

While the leaders of Ukraine, Germany, France and the U.K. met in London earlier this month to hammer out an initial joint position on peace talks, Poland and Italy have openly argued for a seat at the table and criticized their exclusion.

“We will do everything we can to ensure that the countries directly threatened by Russia’s aggressive policies — that is, the countries on our eastern flank — are represented in all forums,” said Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk regarding further support for Ukraine.

“Without Poland, without the Scandinavian countries, without the Baltic states, and without Romania, it will be difficult to achieve anything,” he added.