Germany, France, Italy, Poland and the United Kingdom have pledged to take greater responsibility for Europe's security and work towards a "more European NATO", defence officials said in a joint statement.
The declaration was issued after a meeting of defence ministers and deputy ministers from the five countries, known as the E5, held in Krakow, Poland.
The countries committed to strengthening deterrence and defence capabilities to "prevent possible Russian aggression and ensure the ability to respond to a wide range of threats".
The move comes after NATO allies agreed at the 2025 summit in The Hague to increase defence and security spending to 5% of national GDP, under pressure from the United States.
The five countries called for a "fair burden sharing between allies" and said strengthening Europe’s defence industry would be key to improving military readiness.
Poland, which borders Ukraine and is located on NATO's eastern flank, is already close to the new spending target. Its defence budget is expected to reach 4.48% of GDP in 2025, according to NATO estimates.
This compares with lower levels in other major European countries, including France at 2.05% and Italy at 2.01%.
Polish Defence Minister Władysław Kosiniak Kamysz recently urged countries including France, Italy and Spain to increase their military spending, echoing similar criticism from German officials.
