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

Defense Ministers to Discuss NATO’s Cyber Defenses

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

Defense Ministers to Discuss NATO’s Cyber Defenses

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

Defense Ministers to Discuss NATO’s Cyber Defenses

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

Defense Ministers to Discuss NATO’s Cyber Defenses

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

Defense Ministers to Discuss NATO’s Cyber Defenses

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

Defense Ministers to Discuss NATO’s Cyber Defenses

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

NATOSource

Jun 3, 2013

Defense Ministers to Discuss NATO’s Cyber Defenses

By Jerome Rivet, AFP

From Jerome Rivet, AFP:  Defense ministers from NATO’s 28 member states meet on Tuesday with cyber-defence top of the agenda, amid concerns about the threat posed by increasing cyber-attacks, many blamed on China. “The challenge evolves all the time, probably (much faster) than any other type of threat we face at the moment,” said one […]

Cybersecurity NATO

NATOSource

Jun 3, 2013

Hagel and NATO Defense Ministers to Discuss Training Libyan Security Forces

By David Alexander, Reuters

From David Alexander, Reuters:  NATO defense ministers concerned about the growing presence of al Qaeda-linked rebels in southern Libya will this week discuss the possibility of training Libyan security forces, U.S. defense officials said on Monday.

NATO Security & Defense

NATOSource

May 22, 2013

NATO Deactivates Allied Air Command Izmir HQ in Turkey

By Kimberly Rhoades, Allied Air Command

NATO Security & Defense
German Air Force Chief Karl Muellner

Event Recap

May 14, 2013

Strategy Session on Transatlantic Defense with German Air Force Chief of Staff

On May 15, the Atlantic Council hosted Lieutenant General Karl Müllner, Germany’s Air Force chief of staff, for a strategy session about pertinent issues in transatlantic and German defense in an era of budget austerity and emerging security challenges.

Germany NATO

New Atlanticist

May 8, 2013

France’s White Book: Both Good and the Bad for the US and NATO

By Jeffrey Lightfoot

France’s new White Book on defense and national security offers no radical thinking on the future posture and structure of France’s military and national security establishment, maintaining previous strategic ambitions and positions even in the face of a faltering economy. This is both good news and bad news for Washington and other major French allies. […]

Cybersecurity France

NATOSource

May 8, 2013

Examples of NATO’s accomplishments in recent years

By James Stavridis, Allied Command Operations

From James Stavridis, Allied Command Operations:  A few of the accomplishments of this great Alliance while I was lucky enough to be on the team

NATO Security & Defense

Event Recap

May 7, 2013

Armenia-NATO Relations: Challenges and Prospects

On May 7, 2013, the Atlantic Council hosted an off-the-record roundtable discussion with senior experts on NATO and the South Caucasus. The event was organized jointly with Policy Forum Armenia, a virtual think tank with interest in Armenia’s development and national security.

NATO Security & Defense

New Atlanticist

May 2, 2013

NATO’s Rasmussen Urges Striking New Transatlantic Deal

By James Joyner

NATO Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen declared Europe and North America “need to strike a new transatlantic deal” based on “people, science, and culture” in order to “make our community of values stronger, wider, and deeper.”

NATO Security & Defense

Event Recap

Apr 25, 2013

Video Conference with NATO’s James Appathurai

On April 25, the Atlantic Council held an off-the-record video conference with James Appathurai, NATO deputy assistant secretary general for political affairs and security policy (PASP) and the secretary general’s special representative for the Caucasus and Central Asia, on NATO’s major priorities in the aftermath of the NATO Foreign Ministers meeting, which took place in […]

NATO Security & Defense

NATOSource

Apr 24, 2013

Transform NATO into a defense community within the EU

By Dmitri Trenin, New York Times

From Dmitri Trenin, New York Times:  If the Atlantic alliance were disbanded, European defense policies could be renationalized

European Union International Organizations
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Experts

Fellow

David Auerswald

Nonresident Senior Fellow

Scowcroft Center for Strategy and Security Transatlantic Security Initiative

Defense Policy Europe & Eurasia

Staff

James Batchik

Deputy Director, EU Programs and Operations

Europe Center

Central Europe Digital Policy

Fellow

Andrew Bernard

Nonresident Senior Fellow

Europe Center

NATO Europe & Eurasia

Fellow

Hans Binnendijk

Distinguished Fellow

Scowcroft Center for Strategy and Security Transatlantic Security Initiative

Defense Policy Europe & Eurasia

Fellow

Sara Bjerg Moller

Nonresident Senior Fellow

Indo-Pacific Security Initiative Scowcroft Center for Strategy and Security

Danish Europe & Eurasia

Fellow

Elisabeth Braw

Senior Fellow

Scowcroft Center for Strategy and Security Transatlantic Security Initiative

NATO Resilience & Society
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