NATO at a crossroads: Preparing for a defining summit in a pivotal year |
The coming year will test the resilience, adaptability, and political cohesion of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization more severely than at any point since the end of the Cold War. As geopolitical competition intensifies, internal disagreements persist, and global economic uncertainty deepens, NATO faces a defining moment. The alliance’s major summit scheduled for July 2026 in Ankara, Türkiye, is rapidly approaching, and the groundwork laid in the months ahead will determine whether NATO emerges stronger and more unified-or more fragmented and strained by competing priorities.
Recent events have already exposed fault lines within the transatlantic relationship. At the World Economic Forum in Davos, debates over Greenland highlighted a broader divergence in strategic outlooks between the United States and its European allies. Washington’s growing focus on strategic access, territorial control, and hard security priorities contrasted with European concerns about sovereignty, multilateralism, and long-term stability. While tensions flared, NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte played a critical role in de-escalating the dispute and reaffirming the importance of alliance unity. That episode served as a warning: disagreements can surface quickly, and managing them requires proactive diplomacy, not last-minute crisis control.
In this context, six months is a remarkably short time in the world of alliance politics. NATO summits are not improvised gatherings; they are the culmination of months-often years-of negotiations, agenda-setting, and compromise. If the Ankara summit is to deliver meaningful outcomes rather than symbolic declarations or public disagreements, policymakers on both sides of the Atlantic must act now. Early preparation, sustained engagement, and political will are essential to align US and European priorities before leaders arrive at the negotiating table.
The stakes extend far beyond military coordination. The transatlantic relationship underpins a vast share of the global economy.........