NATO

NATO

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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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

Putin’s Nordic Shadow and Finland’s Growing Interest in NATO

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

Putin’s Nordic Shadow and Finland’s Growing Interest in NATO

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

Putin’s Nordic Shadow and Finland’s Growing Interest in NATO

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

Putin’s Nordic Shadow and Finland’s Growing Interest in 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

Putin’s Nordic Shadow and Finland’s Growing Interest in NATO

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

Putin’s Nordic Shadow and Finland’s Growing Interest in NATO

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

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

Russian President Vladimir Putin in Karelia, April 28, 2014

NATOSource

May 9, 2014

Putin’s Nordic Shadow and Finland’s Growing Interest in NATO

By James Kirchick, Foreign Policy

[I]n the wake of Russia’s annexation of Crimea, the once-dormant debate about joining NATO is heating up in both Finland and its Nordic neighbor, Sweden.

NATO NATO Partnerships
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, December 4, 2009

NATOSource

May 8, 2014

NATO Official: Russia Now An Adversary

By Robert Burns, AP

After two decades of trying to build a partnership with Russia, NATO now feels compelled to start treating Moscow as an adversary, the alliance’s second-ranking official said Thursday.

NATO Russia
NATO Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen, May 8, 2014

NATOSource

May 8, 2014

NATO Sees No Sign of Russian Troop Pullback from Ukraine Border

By AFP

NATO said Thursday it had yet to see “any indications” that Russia has withdrawn its troops from the Ukraine border, a day after President Vladimir Putin claimed to have done so.

NATO Russia
SACEUR Gen. Philip Breedlove, May 5, 2014

NATOSource

May 7, 2014

NATO Scrambles to Knit Together a Cyberwar Strategy in Face of Attacks

By Murray Brewster, Canadian Press

Moscow’s stealth annexation of Crimea was accompanied by a highly co-ordinated cyber campaign aimed at civilian and military targets — a brutally effective effort, said U.S. Gen. Phillip Breedlove, who is visiting Canada this week.

Cybersecurity NATO
Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, May 6, 2014

NATOSource

May 7, 2014

Prime Minister Abe: Japan and NATO Are ‘Natural Partners’

By Shinzo Abe, Office of the Prime Minister of Japan

Why Japan and NATO?

Japan NATO

In the News

May 7, 2014

Brattberg: Should NATO Go Global Or Back to Basics?

By Erik Brattberg

Brent Scowcroft Center Resident Fellow Erik Brattberg writes for The Hill’s Congress Blog on why NATO should have a global focus:

NATO Security & Defense
Canada's Chief of Defense Gen. Tom Lawson and SACEUR Gen. Philip Breedlove

NATOSource

May 7, 2014

NATO Commander Says Permanent Troop Presence Possible in Central Europe

By CBC News

Russia’s annexation of Crimea and its “direct involvement in agitating the situation in eastern Ukraine” has created a “new paradigm” that is forcing NATO to consider permanently stationing military assets in Eastern Europe, NATO’s top military commander in Europe said Tuesday.

NATO Russia
Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and NATO Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen

NATOSource

May 6, 2014

Japan Strengthens Its Partnership with NATO

By NATO

NATO Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen and Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe on Tuesday (06 May 2014) signed a roadmap detailing areas where the Alliance and Japan will work to widen and deepen their longstanding partnership.

Japan NATO

Commanders Series

May 6, 2014

Schissler: The “Transatlantic Link is Under Renovation”

Faced with a coercive Russia, declining defense resources, and additional contingencies in Europe’s east, how can NATO plan, deter against, and form a strategy to deal with these and other challenges? What does the future of NATO look like as it looks to adapt to face the challenges of individual empowerment and other global trends? […]

NATO Security & Defense

In the News

May 6, 2014

Air Force Times: General Calls for Allied Strategy in Any “Show of Force” in Europe

By Atlantic Council

The Air Force Times cites the Atlantic Council for hosting an event with Lt. Gen. Mark Schissler, deputy chairman of NATO’s Military Committee:

NATO Russia
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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
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Events

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