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

Final Workshop: The Strategic Concept’s Impact on US European Command

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

Final Workshop: The Strategic Concept’s Impact on US European Command

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

Final Workshop: The Strategic Concept’s Impact on US European Command

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

Final Workshop: The Strategic Concept’s Impact on US European Command

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

Final Workshop: The Strategic Concept’s Impact on US European Command

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

Final Workshop: The Strategic Concept’s Impact on US European Command

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

Event Recap

Feb 2, 2011

Final Workshop: The Strategic Concept’s Impact on US European Command

On Wednesday, February 2, the Strategic Advisors Group and members of the Atlantic Council expert network met for the third and final workshop of the International Security Program’s project on the future of the United States European Command (EUCOM).

NATO Security & Defense

NATOSource

Feb 1, 2011

NATO Secretary General discusses 2011 priorities with US leaders

By NATO

From NATO:  The Secretary General met with the US Secretary of State, Hillary Clinton and Defence Secretary, Robert Gates, as well as with other senior members of the US Administration, to discuss NATO priorities in 2011

NATO Security & Defense

NATOSource

Jan 26, 2011

Reform of NATO agencies to be presented in March, changes in military command structure chosen by June

By NATO

NATO Security & Defense

Event Recap

Dec 8, 2010

Second Workshop: The Strategic Concept’s Impact on US European Command

The Program on International Security hosted the second of three workshops to assess how the new NATO Strategic Concept and other initiatives launched at the Lisbon summit will impact the future of the United States European Command (USEUCOM).

NATO Security & Defense

NATOSource

Dec 4, 2010

Transatlantic Division of Labor: NATO Hard Power and EU Soft Power?

By Howard LaFranchi, the Christian Science Monitor

From Howard LaFranchi, the Christian Science Monitor:  "If one were to say that Europe is going only in the direction of soft power, I would not agree," says Gen. Stéphane Abrial, NATO’s supreme allied commander for transformation.

European Union International Organizations

Transcript

Nov 30, 2010

Transcript: Videoconference with NATO Secretary General Rasmussen

Full transcript of an Atlantic Council videoconference with NATO Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen.

NATO Security & Defense

Event Recap

Nov 30, 2010

Videoconference with NATO Secretary General Rasmussen

On Tuesday, November 30, the Atlantic Council hosted a videoconference with NATO Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen for a discussion about the outcomes of the recent Lisbon summit. Atlantic Council Board Director and former National Security Advisor to President George W. Bush Stephen J. Hadley hosted the discussion and introduced the Secretary General.

NATO Security & Defense

NATOSource

Nov 23, 2010

NATO SecGen: “This summit in Lisbon has been a great, great success”

By Anders Fogh Rasmussen, NATO

NATO Security & Defense

New Atlanticist

Nov 19, 2010

NATO’s Defense Budgets 2011

By Simona Kordosova

As NATO leaders meet in Lisbon, their responsibility includes charting the Alliance’s course in an age of austerity. The fiscal crisis that swept across both sides of the Atlantic put enormous pressure on defense budgets. As NATO leaders approve a new Strategic Concept and commit to strengthen capabilities to guard against a new array of […]

NATO Security & Defense

Issue Brief

Nov 18, 2010

NATO Missile Defense: Is Europe Ready?

By Edgar Buckley

Edgar Buckley, Atlantic Council Strategic Advisors Group member and former NATO Assistant Secretary General for Defense Planning and Operations, published a Transatlantic Missile Defense issue brief titled “NATO Missile Defense: Is Europe Ready?” Download the PDF

Europe & Eurasia NATO
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Experts

Advisory Council member

Clifford Sobel

Former United States Ambassador to Brazil

Adrienne Arsht Latin America Center

Brazil Economy & Business

Fellow

Stefano Stefanini

Nonresident Senior Fellow

Scowcroft Center for Strategy and Security Transatlantic Security Initiative

English Europe & Eurasia

Staff

Kimberly Talley

Associate Director

Scowcroft Center for Strategy and Security Transatlantic Security Initiative

NATO Security & Defense

Staff

Torrey Taussig

Director

Scowcroft Center for Strategy and Security Transatlantic Security Initiative

Eastern Europe Europe & Eurasia

Fellow

Jessica Taylor

Nonresident Fellow

Indo-Pacific Security Initiative Scowcroft Center for Strategy and Security

Crisis Management East Asia

Staff

Kristen Taylor

Associate Director

Transatlantic Security Initiative

Europe & Eurasia European Union
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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