# Merz hosts the E5 in Berlin to align before the NATO summit in Turkey
> France, the UK, Italy and Poland join Germany to coordinate Ukraine, Iran and burden-sharing

**Meta:** type: event · date: 2026-06-23 · heads: Quién decide, Cómo terminan de verdad las guerras · 9 takes · 3 lenses · 2 regions

## Summary

On [Friedrich Merz](/es/entity/friedrich-merz)'s invitation, the leaders of Europe's five biggest powers — [Emmanuel Macron](/es/entity/emmanuel-macron),
[Giorgia Meloni](/es/entity/giorgia-meloni), the UK's caretaker premier, [Donald Tusk](/es/entity/donald-tusk) and Merz — convened in Berlin around
22–23 June 2026, the first E5 leaders' meeting since the June 2025 NATO summit in The Hague and
roughly two weeks before the next NATO summit in Turkey. NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte joined
from Washington. The agenda: continued Ukraine support, Europe's role in the Iran ceasefire, and US
pressure on defence burden-sharing. A live fault line runs underneath: Ukraine diplomacy is being
driven by the smaller E3 (Germany, France, the UK), which Italy and Poland resent — Tusk insists
Poland must be "at the table." It extends the [Macron's Évian G7 turns Trump toward Ukraine, drops the joint communiqué](/es/n/g7-evian-macron-ukraine-pivot) coordination and
[Germany](/es/entity/germany)'s post-Évian role.

## By the numbers

- 5 — E5 members (the four European G7 states plus Poland).
- ~2 weeks — gap to the NATO summit in Turkey.
- 1 — prior E5 leaders' meeting (June 2025, The Hague).
- 3 — E3 states (Germany, France, UK) driving Ukraine diplomacy, to Italy's and Poland's irritation.

## Why it matters

The Berlin meeting is Europe pre-negotiating a common line on Ukraine, Iran and spending before
confronting a transactional Washington in Turkey. The E5-versus-E3 friction exposes who counts as a
first-tier European power — and whether the bloc can speak with one voice on defence.

## What to watch

- Whether the Turkey NATO summit lands a unified European burden-sharing pledge.
- Tusk's push to widen Ukraine diplomacy beyond the E3.
- Concrete follow-through on Iran/Hormuz security commitments.

## Regional takes (batched by bias / lens)

### unlabelled
- **Bundesregierung (NATO summit, chancellor)** (Germany, en) — Federal government channel for the chancellor's NATO-summit positioning, ahead of the Turkey summit the Berlin E5 meeting was convened to prepare.
  Source: https://www.bundesregierung.de/breg-en/news/nato-summit-chancellor-2358624
- **WirtschaftsWoche** (Germany, de) — 
  Source: https://www.wiwo.de/politik/europa/e5-treffen-in-berlin-europaeer-stimmen-sich-vor-nato-gipfel-ab/100235370.html
- **Rhein-Zeitung** (Germany, de) — 
  Source: https://www.rhein-zeitung.de/deutschland-welt/politik/europaeer-stimmen-sich-vor-nato-gipfel-ab_arid-4135530.html
- **t-online** (Germany, de) — 
  Source: https://www.t-online.de/nachrichten/deutschland/id_101310212/europaeer-stimmen-sich-vor-nato-gipfel-ab.html
- **news.de (dpa)** (Germany, de) — 
  Source: https://www.news.de/politik/859752682/merz-stimmt-sich-vor-nato-gipfel-mit-maechtigen-europaeern-ab-friedrich-merz-news-der-dpa-aktuell-zu-nato-verteidigung-militaer-und-ruestungsindustrie/1/
- **onvista** (Germany, de) — 
  Source: https://www.onvista.de/news/2026/06-23-merz-stimmt-sich-vor-nato-gipfel-mit-maechtigen-europaeern-ab-0-10-26525024
- **Yahoo News** (United States, en) — 
  Source: https://www.yahoo.com/news/politics/articles/merz-invites-starmer-macron-meloni-125630604.html

### Berlin centre-left
- **Tagesspiegel** (Germany, de) — Analyses the E5 vs E3 tension — Ukraine diplomacy run by Germany, France and the UK, which Italy and Poland resent — arguing Europe's 'big five' now carry the load as US engagement wavers.
  > "Now it comes down to Europe's big five."
  Source: https://www.tagesspiegel.de/politik/macron-meloni-starmer-und-tusk-zu-gast-bei-merz-auf-die-grossen-funf-in-europa-kommt-es-jetzt-an-15748692.html

### German business daily
- **Handelsblatt** (Germany, de) — Focuses on the defence-spending and burden-sharing agenda under US pressure, reading the Berlin meeting as Europe pre-negotiating its NATO line before facing Washington in Turkey.
  > "Europeans coordinate ahead of the NATO summit."
  Source: https://www.handelsblatt.com/politik/deutschland/e5-treffen-in-berlin-europaeer-stimmen-sich-vor-nato-gipfel-ab/100235366.html

## Across the graph
- Related: [[g7-evian-macron-ukraine-pivot]], [[merz-iran-hormuz-bundeswehr-2026]], [[poland-germany-defence-pact-2026]]
- Entities: Friedrich Merz, Germany, Emmanuel Macron, Giorgia Meloni, Donald Tusk

---
Canonical: https://rbtfl.xyz/es/n/merz-e5-berlin-nato-gipfel-2026