Chancellor Friedrich Merz plans to host the leaders of France, Britain, Italy and Poland, a spokesman said Monday, adding that the resignation of British Prime Minister Keir Starmer had not changed those plans. “We’ll stick to our plan and carry on as we have been doing over the past few days,” government spokesman Stefan Kornelius told a regular press briefing. NATO chief Mark Rutte is set to join the talks via video link. The meeting is due to start at 4:45 pm local time and
a joint press conference is planned for 1800 GMT. “The focus of the meeting. is preparation for the NATO summit in Ankara on July 7th and 8th and of course the invasion of Ukraine and the situation in the Middle East,” said Kornelius. Starmer tendered his resignation Monday but is expected to remain in office for months until a new leader is chosen. The so-called E5 group was formed in 2024 following increasing calls for European rearmament and improved coordination to support Ukraine against the
Russian invasion. The Italian government had earlier said Monday that Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni would attend the meeting with her counterparts. At last week’s G7 summit attended by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, leaders agreed to increase supplies of air defence equipment to Ukraine and boost sanctions on Russia. The G7 leaders also agreed to grant licences for Ukraine-based companies to produce long-range missiles and air defence systems, a diplomatic source said. But Zelensky has called for Europe to do more as US efforts to end
the fighting have faded. A European Union official said EU chief Antonio Costa’s office had made “brief contacts at diplomatic level” with Moscow aimed at opening communication channels. But some EU states have been wary about reaching out to the Kremlin, with diplomats saying several leaders pushed backed against Costa’s efforts at last week’s EU summit in Brussels.
European leaders, Berlin meeting, Ukraine talks, Friedrich Merz, Stefan Kornelius, Mark Rutte, Keir Starmer resignation, Giorgia Meloni, NATO summit Ankara July 7 8, Antonio Costa contacts Moscow, Middle East situation