The Foreign Ministers of Poland, Germany, France, Italy, and Spain, forming the new G5+ contact group, will meet in Madrid on Monday, March 31st, for their third official gathering. This meeting, exclusively revealed by EL MUNDO, will also include the High Representative of the European Union for Foreign Affairs, Kaja Kallas, the counterpart from the African Union, and the British Foreign Secretary, David Lammy.
This will be the third 'summit' of the G5+ countries, who decided to strengthen the unity of European allies following the arrival of Donald Trump to power, aiming to establish a common European defense position against the threat posed by Vladimir Putin, the President of Russia. The first virtual contact took place last November, with the participation of the French representative, Jean-Noël Barrot; the German representative, Annalena Baerbock; the Italian representative, Antonio Tajani; the Polish representative, Radosaw Sikorski; the British representative, David Lammy; and the Spanish representative, José Manuel Albares.
Following the initial contact, a statement was released by the G5+ members addressing "Russia's systematic attack on the European security architecture." They also aligned with the requests of the new European Commission by stating that "European countries must play an even more significant role in ensuring our own security, acting alongside our transatlantic and global partners."
The G5+ members formally met for the first time in Berlin last December, with Ukraine as an invited country. They issued a statement committing to "support the repair, recovery, and reconstruction of Ukraine, in coordination with international partners."
They met again on February 5th in Paris, with the presence of General Kellog, the U.S. envoy. Minister José Manuel Albares stated on social media that these meetings are to "address European security and our role in the world." He affirmed that the meetings concluded with a determination to "strengthen European security, ensure the well-being of our citizens, and defend our values. We continue to support Ukraine. There can be no just peace in Ukraine without Europeans." According to sources, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs offered Madrid as the venue for a new meeting. An invitation was initially planned for the 24th but will now take place on the 31st with the same format as previous meetings, focusing on new topics, awaiting confirmation of a ceasefire between Russia and Ukraine following U.S. mediation.