NATO is seriously considering canceling its annual summit scheduled for next year in Albania. According to reports, the move aims to de-escalate tensions with Donald Trump, who has launched fresh attacks against the alliance, while also avoiding putting the host country in the spotlight over its low defense spending.
NATO summit: The Ankara backdrop and Trump’s pressure
Discussions about scrapping the annual summit format came to a head during the Ankara meeting. The U.S. president made clear he attended the Turkish capital solely because of his close relationship with Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, while openly seizing the opportunity to question NATO’s usefulness and strength.
Trump’s relentless criticism increases the likelihood that the summit planned for Albania will be postponed, as alliance leadership seeks to deny him yet another public stage from which to disparage its members.
The defense spending problem and Rutte’s position
The choice of Albania as host complicates matters further, as the country ranks among the lowest in military spending within the alliance, having until recently fallen short of the 2% of GDP defense threshold. On the other hand, NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte is pushing for the summit to go ahead in order to keep the alliance in the international spotlight, while also attempting to appease Trump by highlighting member states’ increases in defense budgets.
Tellingly, the final communiqué from the Ankara summit will contain no reference to the next meeting. As NATO’s top military officer, Giuseppe Cavo Dragone, stated on Bloomberg TV: “The summit will take place in Albania — whether it happens next year or the year after is still under discussion.”
