Presidency

French Presidency 2026


In 2026, France holds the 5+5 Defence Initiative’s presidency following Tunisia in 2025. Each year, a different country assumes the presidency on a rotating basis.

France is responsible for organising the steering meetings assigned to each presidency, as follows:

  • two steering committee (CODIR) meetings, which establish the action plan and review the main areas of cooperation;

  • two pedagogical committee meetings, which plan training activities for several hundred participants from the various member states;

  • a meeting of the Chiefs of Staff, which sets the strategic orientation;

  • a ministerial meeting, which serves as a forum for political dialogue on 5+5 Defence topics. It also validates the work carried out during the year and announces projects for the following year.

This committee structure operates throughout the year.

As the presiding country, France also coordinates all the activities set out in the action plan approved the previous year. Each country leads various activities, including training sessions, exercises and working groups in fields such as maritime security, artificial intelligence, and the use of drones.

In this context, France seeks to preserve and stabilise the overall framework of the Initiative by promoting dialogue, the exchange of best practices, and the implementation of concrete cooperative activities.


Presidency History


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Initial Official Logo - 2004





Algeria - 2006​




France - 2007​




Italy - 2008​


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Libya - 2009




Malta - 2010​

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Mauritania - 2011

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Morocco - 2012

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Portugal - 2013


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Spain - 2014

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Tunisia - 2015


Algeria - 2016

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France - 2017


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Italy - 2018

Libya - 2019​

Malta - 2020​


Mauritania - 2021


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Marocco - 2022

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Portugal - 2023

Spain - 2024

logo presidency Tunisian

Tunisia - 2025

France - 2026 (ongoing)



​// presidency

 

Since January 1, 2017, France took, for one year, the rotating Presidency of the "5 + 5 defence" Initiative, which brings together five States from the South Shore  of the Mediterranean (Algeria, Libya, Mauritania, Morocco and Tunisia) and five States of the North Shore (France, Italy Malta, Portugal and Spain). France succeeds to Algeria.

Under the French Presidency, the 2017 action plan includes 38 activities. Ten activities are planned in France by 2017, including:

- The Meeting of the Ministers of Defence (December 2017);

- Two meetings of the Steering Committee (March and November 2017);

- The Armed Forces Chiefs of Staff Meeting (October 2017);

- The Organization of the naval exercise SEABORDER in partnership with Morocco and Portugal. This exercise is organized once a year since 2008. It allows the naval forces of the North and South of the Mediterranean shores to gain more experience in the field of maritime safety as well as to develop interoperability;

- The management of the CEMRES research , structure which leads the annual research work of The 5+5 Defence Initiative. This year, the theme of the research will be: "Security issues related to climate change in space 5 + 5: implications for defence policy?"

- The 5+5 Defence College Educational Meeting (October 2017), France serving as the permanent secretariat of this Committee;

Furthermore, several high-level meetings abroad in 2017, as:

- The Navy Chiefs of staff Meeting, in Algeria (April 2017);

- The Air Force Chiefs of Staff Meeting, in Spain (October 2017);

- The Defence General Inspectors , in Tunisia (second semester 2017).

 


Learn more

"French Presidency of the 5 + 5 defence Initiative" Press Kit http://www.defense.gouv.fr/content/download/494122/8432690/DossierPresse_HD-def.pdf