On 20 February, the minister of national defence hosted in Cracow the ministers of defence of France, Germany, Italy and Great Britain. High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, Kaja Kallas, and deputy Secretary General of NATO, Radmila Shekerinska, were also participating in the meeting, seventh of this kind since 2024. Minister of defence of Ukraine, Mykhailo Fedorov, participated remotely.

- Every country present here has increased defence spending. Europe has launched the SAFE programme. For the first time, the European Union has begun actions aimed at financing the defence industries and strengthening the capabilities of national armies at this scale. We are grateful for that. We have received the signal from across the ocean – we are in favour of great trans-atlantic relations and relations with the United States, but we are convinced that Europe, which is doing much more today than it has been doing a year ago, has to adopt this strategy for years in order to be a real military partner for the US. The countries gathered here are doing more than over the last 30 years – since the end of the Cold War. There hasn’t been armament and building a strong, independent defence industry in Europe on this scale for over three decades. This is a breakthrough in responsibility for our own security, while maintaining the best possible relationship with and keeping the soldiers from the United States in Europe. Our strengthening of capabilities is an action for the cooperation with the United States, not against them. - noted the deputy prime minister W. Kosiniak-Kamysz.

During working sessions, the delegations were focused on strengthening deterrence and defence within NATO structures, as well as countering rising hybrid threats. Continuing the comprehensive support for Ukraine – in the military, political and industrial dimension – as a prerequisite for building a lasting and just peace in Europe was an important element of the agenda. During the event, a declaration on strategic cooperation in the area of Low-Cost Effectors and Autonomous Platforms (LEAP) was signed. The initiative concerns the development of modern, scalable and cost-effective weapon systems, which are the answer to the rapidly changing character of modern armed conflicts.

- We have also signed a very important obligation to jointly develop drone strike capabilities, low-cost shared production and joint procurement of drone effectors – combat missiles, using Artificial Intelligence. Technologies and combat techniques change rapidly – we have to react quickly and accurately. – noted the Polish minister of national defence.

- Increasing the scale of defence investments is an important obligation. The stronger member states are, the stronger the Alliance is. European allies increase spending and take greater responsibility for NATO, and countries of the #E5 Group are a good example of this. Poland is also a leader of spending increases, and a strong ally. – said the deputy Secretary General of NATO, Radmila Shekerinska

- We have a shared responsibility for security. We continue our mission collectively and develop our defence capabilities. I wish to stress here, in Cracow, how important the possibility to use Polish infrastructure is – for example in Rzeszów, which is a key logistical hub used by allied countries to support Ukraine. We all know that we must strengthen the European dimension of security, especially with the coming summit in Ankara – stressed the minister of defence of France, Catherine Vautrin.

- We discussed starting an initiative for low-cost weapons production. Another matter on the agenda was the Ukraine and implementing conclusions from the ongoing war into the operation and development of the Armed Forces of the allied nations.
- noted the deputy minister of defence of Great Britain, Luke Pollard

>>> GALLERY – The meeting of ministers of defence of the E5 Group

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Joint Statement from the Meeting of the European Group of Five Defence Ministers in Kraków
20 February 2026

We met today in the format of the Defence Ministers of France, Germany, Italy, Poland and the United Kingdom to reaffirm Europe’s unity and shared responsibility for the security in the Euro-Atlantic area. Our discussion focused on three areas: (I) deterrence and defence within NATO and strengthening European defence readiness, (II) preventing and countering hybrid threats, and (III) sustained support for Ukraine, also in the context of ongoing efforts to achieve a lasting peace. We support Ukraine now and are building durable foundations for Europe’s security in the future.

I. Euro-Atlantic and European Defence
NATO remains the cornerstone of collective defence, and we are ready to take greater responsibility for Europe’s security. We commit to further strengthening deterrence and defence, including increasing the readiness and scale of available forces and capabilities, as well as taking a more proactive approach to our security. In doing so, we aim to prevent potential aggression by Russia and ensure the capacity to respond to a broad range of  threats.
We will continue to focus on a fair burden-sharing among Allies. Effective responses to current threats and challenges require a proportional contribution of Allies. We are implementing the commitments from the NATO Summit in The Hague to increase defence spending. We will deliver a more European NATO, bolstering  European defence readiness, strengthening the defence of the Alliance and reinforcing the transatlantic bond through increased capability, coordination, and responsibility. To this end, we commit to driving forward multinational capability initiatives and cooperative programmes, consistent with NATO and EU frameworks, including space. 
We asked our policy and military planners to come up with proposals on how cooperation in this format could help us assume greater responsibilities within the NATO framework. A greater contribution to its conventional deterrence and defence.
We support a real increase in the production capacity of the European defence industrial base. We need shorter delivery times, greater standardization and lower prices for key categories of armaments to build Europe’s long-lasting resilience. We welcome the EU’s commitment to providing Member States with increased fiscal flexibility for defence spending and to create lending instruments. We reaffirm that the EU’s role is to provide enabling instruments in support of defence competences that remain at the national level. We are also committed to further identifying and removing regulatory and administrative barriers. Non-EU Allies’ fullest involvement in EU defence efforts is essential.
We agree to launch the Low-Cost Effectors and Autonomous Platforms (LEAP) initiative, to increase our cooperation on the development and procurement of low-cost effectors and autonomous platforms to deliver military effect. Alongside co-operation on traditional weapons systems, this will improve our collective security within the Alliance, help fulfil NATO capability requirements and strengthen European cooperation with 
a view to greater burden-sharing among Allies.
We share the vision to coordinate our efforts in the Western Balkans, where we will work together to support a secure, stable and prosperous region, in complementarity with NATO and EU initiatives, and the Euro-Atlantic integration of the countries concerned.

II. Preventing and Countering Hybrid Threats
Europe is facing increasing Russian hybrid pressure and complex cross-domain challenges. We aim to strengthen early warning and response mechanisms, as well as societal and institutional resilience. NATO and the EU have an important role to play in this area. We intend to ensure coherence and complementarity between their actions.

III. Support for Ukraine and Efforts Toward Lasting Peace
Ukraine’s ability to defend its sovereignty is critically important for ensuring the future of Ukraine’s and Euro-Atlantic collective security. Therefore, we will continue to support Ukraine. This support will be closely coordinated within the UDCG, with NATO and EU to reinforce unity of effort and operational effectiveness. For this purpose, we underline: strong Ukrainian Armed Forces are the first security guarantee for a Ukraine in peace.
We also support efforts to bring hostilities to an end. As members of the Coalition of the Willing, we welcomed the Minister of Defence of Ukraine for the dedicated segment of our meeting and heard updates on the diplomatic efforts aimed at ending the war. We declare our support for these efforts.
We also declare our support for Ukraine’s security after the cessation of hostilities. We confirm that ensuring the sovereignty and lasting security of Ukraine shall be an integral part of a peace agreement, and that any settlement will have to be backed up by robust security guarantees for Ukraine. We have taken steps to implement the Paris Declaration of 6 January 2026 on Robust Security Guarantees for a Solid and Lasting Peace in Ukraine.