The E5 Format Gaining Momentum Ahead of the NATO Summit in Ankara

Ahead of the NATO summit in Ankara, scheduled for July 7–8, Europe’s five largest military powers are rapidly establishing a framework which could replace the cumbersome Brussels-based defense decision-making process.

On June 12, Ministers of Defence of France, Poland, Italy, Germany, and the United Kingdom held a video conference in the E5 format. They discussed preparations for Ankara, increasing Europe’s contribution to collective defense, the division of responsibilities among allies, and continued support for Ukraine. The participants formulated their conclusion without diplomatic niceties: russia remains the greatest long-term threat to Euro-Atlantic security.

At the end of June, Chancellor of Germany Friedrich Merz is gathering the E5 leaders in Berlin. The goal is clear: to establish a common position on cooperation with Washington ahead of the Ankara summit and to show the Americans that Europe is ready to take on more.

Meanwhile, on June 9 in Brussels, EU Commissioner for Defense and Space Andrius Kubilius proposed transforming the E5 into an “informal security council”. According to his vision, this could be the first structural step toward a European Defense Union, where decisions are made by those ready to implement them, rather than waiting for consensus from the remaining twenty-seven.

The key difference from the traditional EU format is that the E5 is not bound by the European Union’s institutional procedures and can include countries that are not members of the EU. This first of all refers to the United Kingdom and Norway. Turkey and Canada are being considered for the future. This format is of special importance for Ukraine: participation in joint defense initiatives and deepening cooperation with the continent’s leading military powers open up a different path to integration into the European security space, an alternative to the long road through Brussels.