Europe's Big Five Close Ranks on Ukraine Ahead of NATO's Ankara Summit

Closing Ranks Before Ankara

Five of Europe's most powerful heads of state gathered in Berlin on June 24 at the invitation of German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, pledging unified backing for Ukraine ahead of the NATO summit scheduled for July 7–8 in Ankaraaljazeera. Merz, Emmanuel Macron, Keir Starmer, Giorgia Meloni and Donald Tusk — the so-called E5 — met at a joint press conference where Merz declared: "The message to Russia is: Ukraine remains strong."aljazeera NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte joined by videolink before heading directly to a separate meeting with U.S. President Donald Trumpeuractiv.

Five Messages, One Signal

Merz outlined five priority areas from the Berlin talks, including support for a stronger European pillar within NATO, closer joint development of deep precision strike capabilities, and a firm commitment to air-defence deliveries for Kyiveuractiv. Germany, he said, intends to reach NATO's 3.5% of GDP defence-spending target by 2029euractiv. The leaders' joint statement pledged "to further substantially support Ukraine in its defence against Russian aggression, including through sanctions and economic pressure on Russia as well as support for the resilience of Ukraine's energy sector."aljazeera Starmer described Ukraine as "the defining issue" for the Ankara summit and called for intensified economic pressure on Moscow: "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."euractiv

Convergence — and Complications

Macron told reporters he saw "growing convergence between Europe and the United States," citing Trump's reaffirmation of backing for Kyiv at last week's G7 in Evian-les-Bainspolitico +1. Tusk cautioned that sustaining support would be hard without the full engagement of Poland and the Baltic states, and said the countries on NATO's eastern flank must be represented in every forum dealing with potential peace talkseuractiv. The Berlin gathering was partly aimed at papering over tensions after Poland and Italy had been excluded from an earlier E3 meeting in London with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyyeuractiv. Macron and Meloni also signalled European readiness for a potential naval mission in the Strait of Hormuz, though both said a finalised U.S.-Iran memorandum of understanding would need to be in place firstaljazeera. The leaders plan to carry their unified message directly into the Ankara summit, where all 32 NATO heads of state — including Trump — are expectedaljazeera.

A Tribute and a Transition

On a more personal note, the Berlin meeting served as a quiet send-off for Starmer, who is leaving office as British prime minister. Merz praised his "team play," Macron his "good strategic decisions," and Meloni his "excellent cooperation"aljazeera. Tusk, in perhaps the warmest tribute, said Starmer's commitment had helped forge a more united Europe and that, for a while at least, the leaders had "forgotten Brexit."aljazeera