NATO

NATO

From July 7 to 8, heads of state and government will gather at the NATO Summit in Ankara, Turkey, where allies will seek to capitalize on the success of last year’s landmark defense spending pledge and begin converting cash into capabilities. Check out our commentary, analysis, and events covering the convening, courtesy of our experts.

TRACKING NATO SPENDING

Trackers and Data Visualizations

Jun 20, 2025

NATO defense spending tracker

By Kristen Taylor, Julia Salabert

The Transatlantic Security Initiative’s NATO defense spending tracker delves into data and figures to analyze current defense spending trends.

Europe & Eurasia NATO

FEATURED READING

Dispatch from Kyiv: The Kursk offensive is working, but Ukrainians are worried about US wobbling

Dispatches Apr 20, 2026

Five ideas to make the upcoming NATO Summit in Ankara a success

By Atlantic Council experts

While the upcoming summit is unlikely to produce anything as singularly significant as 2025’s “5 percent” pledge, there are important steps the Alliance should take.
Europe & Eurasia NATO
Dispatch from Kyiv: The Kursk offensive is working, but Ukrainians are worried about US wobbling

Dispatches Apr 10, 2026

Dispatch from Vilnius: Warfare is evolving rapidly. Here’s how NATO can keep up.

By David Julazadeh, Julia Salabert

The most important change is that the cost barrier to generating strategic effects has dropped dramatically.
Defense Industry Europe & Eurasia
Dispatch from Kyiv: The Kursk offensive is working, but Ukrainians are worried about US wobbling

Dispatches Jan 21, 2026

To adapt to today’s security threats, NATO should prioritize the basics of defense innovation

By Julia Salabert, Kristen Taylor

Transatlantic allies must focus on accelerating defense innovation while strengthening their defense industrial bases.
Defense Industry Defense Policy
Dispatch from Kyiv: The Kursk offensive is working, but Ukrainians are worried about US wobbling

New Atlanticist Jun 27, 2025

Four fundamental questions the NATO Summit did not answer

By Torrey Taussig

Over the coming months, NATO allies will have to wrestle with questions about the US commitment to Europe, their shared approach to China, and more.
Conflict Defense Industry
Dispatch from Kyiv: The Kursk offensive is working, but Ukrainians are worried about US wobbling

Inflection Points Jun 26, 2025

Dispatch from The Hague: It’s been Trump’s week in Europe and Iran

By Frederick Kempe

What connects the recent events in Iran and at the NATO Summit is that they won’t be remembered for the threats countered but rather for the opportunities seized.
Europe & Eurasia Iran
Dispatch from Kyiv: The Kursk offensive is working, but Ukrainians are worried about US wobbling

Fast Thinking Jun 25, 2025

Trump warmed to NATO at The Hague. But what about Ukraine?

By Atlantic Council

Allies reiterated their commitment to collective defense. But absent from the communiqué was any mention of how Russia’s war against Ukraine should end.
Europe & Eurasia NATO

FEATURED EVENTS

Public Event Tue, April 28, 2026 • 10:15 am ET

Belgium’s defense minister on the future of transatlantic security relations

Minister of Defense of Belgium Theo Francken shares his views on transatlantic security developments and Belgium’s role in Europe’s growing defense industry.
Defense Policy Europe & Eurasia NATO Politics & Diplomacy
Public Event Fri, April 17, 2026 • 11:45 am ET

The British ambassador to the US on Euro-Atlantic security and the Middle East

British Ambassador to the United States Sir Christian Turner joins the Atlantic Council to discuss the UK’s ongoing diplomatic efforts in the Middle East and its vision for the future of Euro-Atlantic security cooperation.
Europe & Eurasia Iran Middle East NATO
Online Event Tue, April 7, 2026 • 10:00 am ET

US-Turkish defense relations and the upcoming NATO Summit

A discussion on the new era for the bilateral US-Turkish defense relationship and the significance of the 2026 NATO Summit in Ankara.
Defense Industry Defense Policy Europe & Eurasia Geopolitics & Energy Security

TUNE IN

Programs and initiatives

The Transatlantic Security Initiative, in the Scowcroft Center for Strategy and Security, shapes and influences the debate on the greatest security challenges facing the North Atlantic Alliance and its key partners.

Learn more

Within the Atlantic Council’s longstanding commitment to strengthening the transatlantic relationship, the Atlantic Council Turkey Program conducts research, provides thought leadership, and offers a platform for strategic dialogue between the US, Turkey, and NATO allies to address the region’s toughest challenges and explore opportunities, including in the fields of energy, business & trade, technology, defense, and security.

Learn more

Content

New Atlanticist

Sep 18, 2024

Dispatch from Kyiv: The Kursk offensive is working, but Ukrainians are worried about US wobbling

By John E. Herbst

Morale in Kyiv has been boosted by the early success of the incursion into Kursk, but tempered by concerns over US support.

Defense Policy Human Rights

UkraineAlert

Sep 17, 2024

Putin is becoming entangled in his own discredited red lines

By Peter Dickinson

Putin is attempting to impose a new red line over the use of Western long-range missiles inside Russia, but Ukraine has already been using these weapons in occupied regions claimed by Russia for more than a year, writes Peter Dickinson.

Conflict Defense Policy

UkraineAlert

Sep 17, 2024

Time to make Russia worry about the West’s red lines in Ukraine

By Mykola Bielieskov

Even talking about Western red lines in Ukraine will no doubt be seen as too provocative by some, but it is now obvious that allowing Russia uncontested escalation dominance has been a costly blunder, writes Mykola Bielieskov.

Conflict Defense Policy

Report

Sep 13, 2024

A sea of opportunities: Exploring cooperation between Turkey and the West in the Black Sea

By Atlantic Council Turkey Programs

In the political sphere, the interests of Turkey and the West in the Black Sea largely overlap.

Defense Industry Defense Technologies

Report

Sep 13, 2024

A sea of opportunities: Introduction

By Yevgeniya Gaber

Turkey and Western countries need to explore the prospects for enhanced cooperation in the Black Sea region to achieve results together that neither could accomplish alone.

Defense Industry Defense Policy

Report

Sep 13, 2024

Part 1. Political and diplomatic dialogue: Challenges and opportunities for Black Sea cooperation between Turkey and the West in the post-2022 environment

By Maryna Vorotnyuk

Turkey and the West should explore avenues of cooperation and fostering a more cooperative engagement culture.

Eastern Europe Europe & Eurasia

Report

Sep 13, 2024

A sea of opportunities: Main takeaways and policy recommendations

By Yevgeniya Gaber

Recommendations for the West and Turkey for enhancing cooperation in defense, maritime security, energy, and political dialogue.

Defense Policy Defense Technologies

Report

Sep 13, 2024

Part 3. Defense cooperation: Turkey’s triangular balancing in the Black Sea region

By Rich Outzen

For stability in the Black Sea region, the West should seek to converge with its most potent regional ally, Turkey.

Conflict Defense Industry

In the News

Sep 12, 2024

Wieslander’s speech at M100 Sanssouci Collouquium

In Anna Wieslander’s opening speech of the M100 Sanssouci Colloquium in Potsdam, on September 12, she warned that the West is underestimating the Russian threat, including hybrid, and called for a new recipe for peace and prosperity in Europe, with solid defense as the foundation, not an add-on. Wieslander’s main points:

NATO Northern Europe

Issue Brief

Sep 11, 2024

A next-generation agenda: Bridging Indo-Pacific and European perspectives on security

By Lauren Gilbert, Malthe Munkøe, Hyunseung David Yu

This next generation agenda proposes policy recommendations designed to improve security cooperation among the United States, South Korea, and European NATO countries in the context of current global security threats, diverging national security perspectives, and imminent leadership changes.

Economy & Business Europe & Eurasia
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Experts

Fellow

Paolo Messa

Nonresident Senior Fellow

Europe Center

Defense Policy Europe & Eurasia

Fellow

Leo Michel

Nonresident Senior Fellow

Scowcroft Center for Strategy and Security Transatlantic Security Initiative

Europe & Eurasia European Union

Fellow

Andrew A. Michta

Nonresident Senior Fellow

GeoStrategy Initiative Scowcroft Center for Strategy and Security

Central Europe Eastern Europe

Fellow

Rebecca R. Moore

Nonresident Senior Fellow

Scowcroft Center for Strategy and Security Transatlantic Security Initiative

Defense Policy Europe & Eurasia

Executive Leadership Intensive participant

Ioana Moraru 

Policy Officer, NATO

Millennium Leadership Program

Europe & Eurasia NATO

Fellow

Jason C. Moyer

Nonresident Fellow

Scowcroft Center for Strategy and Security Transatlantic Security Initiative

Europe & Eurasia NATO
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Events

Public Event Wed, June 17, 2026 • 3:30 pm ET

Senators Jeanne Shaheen and Thom Tillis on the upcoming NATO Summit in Ankara

AN AC FRONT PAGE EVENT—The Atlantic Council is hosting Senators Shaheen and Tillis for a conversation on the upcoming NATO Summit in Ankara.
Europe & Eurasia NATO Security & Defense