In October 2026, the Pentagon is convening its informal Bergen Group for a closed-door meeting in Poland with selected NATO allies, leaving many alliance members off the invitation list. The event is being organized by Pentagon policy chief Elbridge Colby.
According to diplomatic sources cited by Politico, Washington deliberately selected a restricted group for the gathering, a so-called “vanguard” comprising Poland, Germany, the Netherlands, Norway, Sweden, and Finland. Denmark is expected to join the group later.
A diplomat from one of the invited nations insisted the initiative is not an attempt to divide NATO. The diplomat stated that the group is meant to craft proposals that can later be submitted for discussion by the entire alliance. “This could become an engine of transformation” for all of NATO, the diplomat said, while acknowledging that the restricted format caused frustration among several allies, particularly those that have already met or exceeded defense spending targets set by the Trump administration.
Bergen Group: “Reform Incubator” and “NATO 3.0”
The meeting involves a closed working group known as the “Bergen Group,” which operates as a narrow microlateral platform rather than an official NATO event.
Pentagon leadership conceived this format as a “reform incubator”: a discussion platform to “stress-test” the alliance and develop proposals for its large-scale transformation under the so-called “NATO 3.0” concept. The small group of participants is tasked with drafting new ideas to be formally presented later to the remaining members of the 32-nation military bloc.
The exact time and venue of the meeting have not been officially disclosed. However, it will most likely take place during or on the sidelines of the Warsaw Security Forum, which brings together NATO defense ministers, diplomats, and senior military officers. Colby, who is actively promoting the “NATO 3.0” concept and calling on Europe to take greater responsibility for conventional defense, regularly uses major venues of this kind to communicate the US position to allies.
