US convenes seven-country Bergen Group meeting in Poland on NATO's future, excluding UK, France and Baltics
The United States is organizing a meeting of NATO defense ministry representatives from seven countries in Poland in the coming weeks to discuss the Alliance's future. Held in the so-called Bergen Group format, the gathering excludes the United Kingdom, France and the Baltic states and is coordinated on the US side by Deputy Secretary of Defense Elbridge Colby.
Key points
- Meeting to take place in Poland in the coming weeks under US auspices
- Bergen Group format: US, Germany, Norway, Sweden, Finland, Netherlands and Poland
- UK, France and the Baltic states were not invited
- US side coordinated by Deputy Secretary of Defense Elbridge Colby
- Smaller format intended to draft proposals that could later go to all NATO members
- US Defense Department is preparing a review of American military presence in Europe, due by 6 November
- Politico reports the Trump administration has drawn up an "obedient and disobedient" list of NATO allies
Why it matters
The gathering is a concrete expression of Washington's effort to reshape NATO's internal dynamics and prioritize certain allies over others. The exclusion of the UK, France and the Baltic states from a meeting on NATO's future is diplomatically significant and has already generated controversy, while the format is designed to draft proposals that could later be put to the full Alliance, giving the seven participants outsized influence on NATO's direction. It also coincides with a US review of its European military presence and reporting that the Trump administration has categorized allies as "obedient" or "disobedient."
What happened
The United States has organized a gathering of NATO defense ministry representatives from seven countries in Poland in the coming weeks to discuss the future of the Alliance and the future distribution of responsibility for its security. The meeting is held in the so-called Bergen Group format, which includes the United States, Germany, Norway, Sweden, Finland, the Netherlands and Poland. On the US side it will be coordinated by Deputy Secretary of Defense Elbridge Colby, and the main role at the meeting is to be played by deputy defense ministers responsible for defense policy. The United Kingdom, France and the Baltic states were not invited, and the smaller grouping is meant to prepare proposals that could later be discussed by all NATO members. Politico was the first outlet to report on the planned meeting, and Polsat News reported on its details citing Polish government sources.
How Ukrainian sources describe it
Both Ukrainian outlets reporting on the story focus on the secrecy of the meeting, the US role as initiator, and the notable exclusion of the UK, France and the Baltic states. They foreground the Trump administration's reported "obedient/disobedient" list of allies and the parallel US review of its European military presence, presenting these as evidence of an attempt by Washington to reorganize NATO around preferred partners.
How international sources describe it
International outlets Politico and Polsat News are the original sources for the reporting, and the Ukrainian articles explicitly cite them, embedding the international framing of US-led NATO restructuring within Ukrainian coverage. The international-sourced material also adds a European security-of-supply angle absent from the Ukrainian framing, including Latvian President Edgars Rinkēvičs's warning that most NATO members are not prepared for a possible Russian missile strike and Polish MEP Adam Bielan's comment that NATO is being tested by Russia.
Where reporting differs
International reporting frames the Trump administration's "obedient/disobedient" list as tied to allies' refusal to support a US war against Iran, while the Ukrainian-language reporting notes only that such a list was drawn up without specifying the Iran context, leaving the motive ambiguous. International coverage also states outright that the non-invitation of the UK, France and the Baltic states has generated controversy, whereas the Ukrainian-language reporting describes the non-invitations factually without characterizing the reaction as controversial.
Background
The Bergen Group format previously met in Bergen, Norway, with deputy defense ministers and chiefs of staff. The Poland meeting is to be led on the US side by Deputy Secretary of Defense Elbridge Colby. Latvian President Edgars Rinkēvičs has publicly warned that most NATO countries are not yet prepared for a possible Russian missile strike, citing shortfalls in UAV and aerial-warfare capabilities. Polish MEP Adam Bielan has said NATO is being tested by Russia and that the Alliance uses many different meeting formats.