NATO

Security & Defense

From July 7 to 8, 2026, heads of state and government gathered at the NATO Summit in Ankara, Turkey, where allies sought to capitalize on the success of 2025’s landmark defense spending pledge and begin converting cash into capabilities. Check out our commentary, analysis, and events covering the convening and our latest analysis on NATO, courtesy of our experts.

Ankara Summit Content Series

These articles are part of a series featuring Atlantic Council experts’ analysis and recommendations on the key challenges facing allies at the NATO Summit in Ankara, Turkey, and beyond.

How European NATO allies are stepping up, by the numbers

This year’s NATO Summit takes place at a critical time for the Alliance. With no marquee deliverable like last year, NATO leadership will point to progress from European allies on defense spending, defense industrial production, and aid to Ukraine.

European allies can boost NATO unity at the Ankara summit by accelerating eastern flank deterrence

Ahead of the upcoming summit, European allies should commit to accelerating their deployment of full-strength combat brigades to the Baltic states by 2027.

NATO allies need a plan for addressing threats below the threshold of war

NATO should take on a more active role in coordinating the response to attacks below the threshold of war. Specifically, the Alliance should use the upcoming NATO Summit in Ankara to establish response options for its member states.

The Ankara summit is an opportunity for NATO to ramp up engagement with its southern neighborhood

NATO’s engagement with its southern neighborhood has been inconsistent, despite growing security challenges. The Ankara summit offers and opportunity to strengthen dialogue with regional partners and reinforce NATO’s southern strategy.

Innovation ranges: How NATO can test and deploy cutting-edge capabilities faster

The Ankara summit offers allies an opportunity to absorb the lessons from innovation ranges and revitalize the defense innovation pipeline.

Civilian infrastructure is now a strategic target. NATO must adapt to protect it.

To help build resilience, NATO allies should integrate Nordic, Baltic, and Ukrainian “total defense” practices into NATO planning and exercises.

Europe should take the long bet on the US and the transatlantic security relationship

At the upcoming Ankara summit, European allies should underscore their increased defense spending and their tangible contributions to shared security.

How NATO can strengthen the transatlantic defense industrial base in Ankara and beyond

The NATO Summit in Ankara is an opportunity to advance a stronger, more integrated transatlantic defense industrial base.

Europe’s no-panic playbook for a radically different US foreign policy

NATO and the EU need to make significant, lasting changes in response to Trump 2.0 national security policy–quickly, and ideally in coordination with Washington.

NATO’s new Arctic presence shows that European allies are stepping up

Heading into the Ankara summit, the Arctic region offers a prime example of where European allies are stepping up and laying the groundwork for deeper cooperation.

More European NATO allies should step up help to Ukraine through PURL

NATO’s Ankara summit is an opportunity for allies to expand participation in the Prioritized Ukraine Requirements List (PURL), which funds US-made military equipment for Ukraine.

NATO can emerge from the Ankara summit stronger. Here’s how.

Allies can strengthen the Alliance by continuing to increase defense spending, accelerating joint capability development, and sustaining their support for Ukraine.

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

US, NATO end Afghan combat command after thirteen years

Dispatches
Jul 9, 2026

Eleven takeaways from the NATO Summit in Ankara

By
Atlantic Council experts

Atlantic Council experts break down the most important developments coming out of the Ankara summit.

Defense Industry
Defense Policy

Fast Thinking
Jul 8, 2026

Was the NATO Summit a success?

By
Atlantic Council

Atlantic Council experts break down an eventful two days in Ankara.

NATO
Security & Defense

Dispatches
Jul 2, 2026

Civilian infrastructure is now a strategic target. NATO must adapt to protect it.

Allies must preserve the ability to move, reinforce, sustain, communicate, mobilize, and, if necessary, fight under conditions of disruption.

Europe & Eurasia
NATO

Dispatches
Jul 2, 2026

Europe should take the long bet on the US and the transatlantic security relationship

By
Ian Brzezinski, Philippe Dickinson

In Ankara, European leaders must seize the opportunity to reinforce the long-term foundations of the Alliance.

Defense Policy
Europe & Eurasia

Dispatches
Jun 23, 2026

How European NATO allies are stepping up, by the numbers

By
Kristen Taylor, Matt Trunkey

Expect NATO leadership to focus on three main issues: defense spending, defense industrial production, and aid to Ukraine.

Defense Industry
Defense Policy

Dispatches
Jun 17, 2026

NATO’s southern flank is exposed. Portugal can help fortify it.

By
Randi Charno Levine

The Alliance was not designed to focus only on its easter flank. Vulnerabilities to NATO’s south are accumulating faster than strategy is adapting.

Maritime Security
NATO

FEATURED EVENTS

Private Event
Thu, June 25, 2026 • 1:45 pm ET

NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte on the Ankara Summit Agenda

AN AC FRONT PAGE EVENT—NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte lays out his priorities for the upcoming Ankara summit.

Central Europe
Eastern Europe
Europe & Eurasia
European Union

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 hosts Senators Shaheen and Tillis for a conversation on the upcoming NATO Summit in Ankara.

Europe & Eurasia
NATO
Security & Defense

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

TUNE IN

ARCHIVES: THE ATLANTIC COUNCIL ON THE ROAD TO THE NATO SUMMIT

2025: The Hague, Netherlands

Recorded events

Video analysis

Select publications

2024: Washington, DC, United States

Landing page: Atlantic Council at the NATO Summit in Washington

Recorded events

Video analysis

Select publications

2023: Vilnius, Lithuania

Recorded events

Ideas to implementation: Priorities for NATO’s Vilnius Summit

Select publications

Prior to 2023

2022: Madrid, Spain

Event: Priorities for the NATO Summit and security in Europe
Publication: The triumphs and question marks from this week’s NATO summit

2021: Brussels, Belgium

Event: A conversation with NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg
Publication: FAST THINKING: A new era for NATO

2018: Brussels, Belgium

Event: Raising the curtain on the 2018 NATO Brussels Summit
Event: The road to NATO’s Brussels Summit

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

NATOSource

Dec 8, 2014

US, NATO end Afghan combat command after thirteen years

By Lynne O'Donnell, AP

The U.S. and NATO closed their combat command in Afghanistan on Monday, more than 13 years after invading the country in the wake of the Sept. 11 terror attacks to target al-Qaida and Osama bin Laden. . . .

Afghanistan International Security Assistance Force

NATOSource

Dec 5, 2014

Belgian Authorities Resolve Financial Troubles Preventing Completion of New NATO HQ

By NATO

An agreement has been reached by the Belgian authorities to resolve the claim made by BAM Alliance, the general contractor responsible for the construction of the new NATO Headquarters, for additional work. NATO welcomes this agreement.

NATO Security & Defense

Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg and EU High Representative Federica Mogherini, Nov. 4, 2014

NATOSource

Dec 5, 2014

NATO and the EU Talk Over Closer Cooperation

By Stephen Fidler, Wall Street Journal

The headquarters of Brussels’ two international bureaucracies lie barely 4 miles apart, but at times in their history the distance between the two has been far greater.

European Union International Organizations

NATOSource

Dec 4, 2014

Congressman Mike Turner Elected to Lead NATO Parliamentary Assembly

By Anthony Shoemaker and Jessica Wehrman, Dayton Daily News

Rep. Mike Turner is the newest president of the NATO Parliamentary Assembly.

NATO Security & Defense

In the News

Dec 4, 2014

Herbst: Three Ways America Should Respond to the Ukraine Crisis

By John Herbst

Eurasia Center Director John Herbst cowrites for Huffington Post on on how the US ought to look to past agreements for guidance on how to respond to current Russian aggression in Ukraine:

NATO Security & Defense

AWACS: NATO's 'Eye In The Sky,' March 18, 2011

NATOSource

Dec 4, 2014

NATO Faces AWACS Fleet Shrinkage

By Tony Osborne, Aviation Week

NATO might be calling on its members to raise their defense spending, but if the alliance’s airborne early warning program is anything to go by, that message may be falling on deaf ears.

NATO Security & Defense

NATOSource

Dec 3, 2014

Infographic: Details of the Coalition Fighting ISIL

By Jorge Benitez and Gabriel Maletta

Which nations are conducting air strikes in Syria, but not Iraq? Are allies conducting an equal number of the air strikes against ISIL? Which Pacific power is participating in military operations in Iraq? The following chart answers these and many more questions about the international coalition fighting ISIL in Iraq and Syria.

Iraq NATO

Meeting of NATO foreign ministers, December 2, 2104

NATOSource

Dec 3, 2014

New NATO Force Not Ready Until 2016, Alliance to Rely on Interim Brigade

By Michael R. Gordon, New York Times

NATO will establish a prototype of a new rapid response force next year as it strives to improve its ability to deter a Russian attack, the alliance said on Tuesday.

Germany NATO

NATO foreign ministers meeting, December 2, 2014

NATOSource

Dec 2, 2014

NATO Releases Details of its New Readiness Action Plan

By NATO

At the NATO Wales Summit in September 2014, Allied leaders approved a Readiness Action Plan to ensure the Alliance is ready to respond swiftly and firmly to new security challenges.

NATO Security & Defense

Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg at foreign ministers meeting, December 2, 2014

NATOSource

Dec 2, 2014

NATO Struggles to Muster ‘Spearhead Force’ to Counter Russia

By Stephen Fidler, Wall Street Journal

Promised Rapid-Reaction Force Proves Costly, Logistically Difficult for Europe.

NATO Russia

Experts

Fellow

Anca Agachi

Nonresident Fellow

Scowcroft Center for Strategy and Security Transatlantic Security Initiative

Africa Conflict

Staff

Nika Aleksejeva

Resident Fellow, Baltics

Digital Forensic Research Lab

Belarus Disinformation

Millennium fellow

Kirk Allen

Digital Communications Lead, General Atomics Aeronautical Systems

Millennium Leadership Program

Middle East NATO Partnerships

Fellow

Lukas Andriukaitis

Nonresident Fellow

Digital Forensic Research Lab

Disinformation Eastern Europe

Fellow

Ryan Arick

Nonresident Fellow

Scowcroft Center for Strategy and Security Transatlantic Security Initiative

NATO Security & Defense

Fellow

Lisa Aronsson

Nonresident Senior Fellow

Scowcroft Center for Strategy and Security Transatlantic Security Initiative

Europe & Eurasia NATO

Events

Online Event Fri, September 4, 2026 • 10:00 am ET

Will Russia attack NATO?

Conflict Crisis Management Defense Policy Europe

Online Event Tue, September 22, 2026 • 4:15 pm ET

Spain’s foreign minister on European security and the transatlantic alliance

Europe NATO Politics & Diplomacy Security & Defense

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Ankara Summit Content Series

How European NATO allies are stepping up, by the numbers

European allies can boost NATO unity at the Ankara summit by accelerating eastern flank deterrence

NATO allies need a plan for addressing threats below the threshold of war

The Ankara summit is an opportunity for NATO to ramp up engagement with its southern neighborhood

Innovation ranges: How NATO can test and deploy cutting-edge capabilities faster

Civilian infrastructure is now a strategic target. NATO must adapt to protect it.

Europe should take the long bet on the US and the transatlantic security relationship

How NATO can strengthen the transatlantic defense industrial base in Ankara and beyond

Europe’s no-panic playbook for a radically different US foreign policy

NATO’s new Arctic presence shows that European allies are stepping up

More European NATO allies should step up help to Ukraine through PURL

NATO can emerge from the Ankara summit stronger. Here’s how.

TRACKING NATO SPENDING

NATO defense spending tracker

FEATURED READING

Eleven takeaways from the NATO Summit in Ankara

Was the NATO Summit a success?

Civilian infrastructure is now a strategic target. NATO must adapt to protect it.

Europe should take the long bet on the US and the transatlantic security relationship

How European NATO allies are stepping up, by the numbers

NATO’s southern flank is exposed. Portugal can help fortify it.

FEATURED EVENTS

NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte on the Ankara Summit Agenda

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

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

TUNE IN

ARCHIVES: THE ATLANTIC COUNCIL ON THE ROAD TO THE NATO SUMMIT

Programs and initiatives

Content

US, NATO end Afghan combat command after thirteen years

Belgian Authorities Resolve Financial Troubles Preventing Completion of New NATO HQ

NATO and the EU Talk Over Closer Cooperation

Congressman Mike Turner Elected to Lead NATO Parliamentary Assembly

Herbst: Three Ways America Should Respond to the Ukraine Crisis

NATO Faces AWACS Fleet Shrinkage

Infographic: Details of the Coalition Fighting ISIL

New NATO Force Not Ready Until 2016, Alliance to Rely on Interim Brigade

NATO Releases Details of its New Readiness Action Plan

NATO Struggles to Muster ‘Spearhead Force’ to Counter Russia

Experts

Anca Agachi

Nika Aleksejeva

Kirk Allen

Lukas Andriukaitis

Ryan Arick

Lisa Aronsson

Events

Will Russia attack NATO?

Spain’s foreign minister on European security and the transatlantic alliance

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