Who is attending the NATO summit and what’s on the agenda?

Leaders of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), which includes respective European countries, the United States, the United Kingdom and Canada, are gathering this week successful The Hague, Netherlands, for a yearly acme amid Russia’s continued warfare connected Ukraine and uncertainty astir Washington’s aboriginal successful the alliance.

The NATO summit, which starts connected Tuesday and lasts for 2 days, is the archetypal to beryllium attended by US President Donald Trump since helium took bureau successful January for his 2nd term. NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte, the erstwhile Dutch premier minister, volition besides seat the gathering for the archetypal time.

Among expected talking points are the warfare successful Ukraine and the contented of however overmuch subordinate states are spending connected their corporate defence, a contentious constituent successful peculiar for the US. Trump has agelong argued that the US shoulders excessively overmuch of the fiscal load and wants others to rise their defence spending.

But the ongoing struggle betwixt Israel and Iran, which the US joined past weekend, could shadiness the summit. On June 23, Iran fired missiles astatine the US’s Al Udeid airbase successful Qatar, a time aft the US struck 3 Iranian atomic facilities. Trump has since claimed that Israel and Iran had agreed to a ceasefire, but neither of the 2 nations has confirmed immoderate deal.

Who is attending the NATO summit?

Amid respective events planned for the 2 days of meetings, the main absorption of NATO summits is the North Atlantic Council gathering connected June 25, astatine which heads of authorities volition sermon information spending, among different pressing topics.

All 32 NATO heads of authorities oregon government, apical European Union members, and Ukraine’s representatives are expected astatine that meeting. Notably, they include:

• UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer
• Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney
• US President Donald Trump
• French President Emmanuel Macron
• German Chancellor Friedrich Merz
• Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni
• Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez
• Netherlands Prime Minister Dick Schoof
• Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan
• Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban
• Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy
• European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen oregon European Council President Antonio Costa

Other NATO members whose heads of authorities oregon authorities are expected are:

Albania, Belgium, Bulgaria, Croatia, the Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Greece, Iceland, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Montenegro, North Macedonia, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia and Sweden.

Additionally, a radical of Asian state states is usually invited, including Japan, Australia, South Korea and New Zealand. Japan’s Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba and New Zealand’s Christopher Luxon person confirmed attendance.

A Ukrainian serviceman controls a Vampire drone during a trial and grooming flight, amid Russia’s onslaught connected Ukraine, astatine an undisclosed determination successful the Kharkiv region, Ukraine, connected April 22, 2025 [Marko Djurica/Reuters]

Will NATO leaders sermon the Israel-Iran conflict?

Yes, they are expected to code the ongoing struggle betwixt Israel and Iran.

At a media briefing connected Friday, a spokesperson for the German authorities said NATO members would sermon the struggle astatine the summit, but refused to remark connected immoderate subject plans.

On Friday, the 3 largest European nations by population, Germany, France and the UK, held talks with Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi successful Geneva, Switzerland, successful an effort to avert a protracted warfare successful the Middle East.

What other is connected the agenda?

Several topics are acceptable to beryllium discussed, including Russia’s warfare and NATO financing.

Support for Ukraine

The Russia-Ukraine warfare has dominated the acme since Russia invaded Ukraine successful 2022 and remains the cardinal taxable connected the agenda.

NATO members person agelong reiterated that their biggest menace is Russia and person been cardinal successful backing Ukraine’s resistance.

At the 2024 NATO acme successful Washington, NATO allies declared that “Ukraine’s aboriginal is successful NATO” and promised semipermanent information assistance with astatine slightest 50 cardinal euros successful yearly funding.

Rutte said connected June 12 that semipermanent enactment to Ukraine was of paramount value up of the captious gathering.

“We request to marque definite that Ukraine is successful the champion imaginable presumption to one, [sustain] the ongoing struggle with Russia, [following] the unprovoked Russian aggression against Ukraine, but besides to beryllium successful the champion imaginable presumption erstwhile a semipermanent ceasefire (or) a bid woody arises, to marque definite that Putin volition never, ever effort this again,” helium said.

Although Ukraine is not a NATO member, it has agelong hoped to join, and the confederation agreed successful 2008 that Kyiv would beryllium admitted erstwhile it met a acceptable of economic, defence, ineligible and governmental requirements. As a member, Kyiv would payment from the Alliance’s Article 5 policy, which guarantees that anyone attacking a subordinate authorities volition beryllium met with a corporate defence response.

Ukraine’s imaginable rank of NATO is simply a cardinal contented for Russia and 1 of the reasons it cited for starting the war. Russia views specified an enlargement of NATO towards its borders arsenic a nonstop menace to its nationalist security.

But splits successful the NATO confederation person go disposable since the Russian invasion: portion members specified arsenic Estonia are keen for Ukraine to articulation and for much subject enactment to beryllium provided, some, similar Hungary, are viewed arsenic much affable to Moscow. In Poland’s caller statesmanlike election, the contented of Ukrainian refugees successful the country, arsenic good arsenic ties with Europe, were cardinal talking points.

Others are determination successful the middle, fearful of overstepping and escalating the struggle into an all-member war, arsenic Russia routinely threatens that arming Ukraine could resistance NATO subordinate nations straight into the conflict.

With Trump’s predetermination to the White House successful January, it has go progressively unclear whether Ukraine volition proceed to bask overmuch US support, arsenic well.

Trump promised to swiftly extremity the warfare portion connected the run trail, but his attempts person not resulted successful a ceasefire, and his cognition towards Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has been little than friendly, evident successful the mode successful which the Ukrainian president was scolded during his White House sojourn successful February.

NATO subordinate leaders airs for a ‘family picture’ during the NATO Bucharest Nine gathering successful Vilnius, Lithuania, connected June 2, 2025 [Ints Kalnins/Reuters]

Defence spending

Raising the magnitude each subordinate spends connected defence arsenic a percent of gross home merchandise (GDP) is besides a large topic.

In 2023, arsenic Russia’s warfare connected Ukraine entered its 2nd year, NATO leaders agreed to rise spending connected nationalist defence budgets to astatine slightest 2 percent of GDP by 2024, up from the erstwhile threshold of 1.5 percent. However, not each members person done so, with lone 22 subordinate countries gathering the target. Belgium, Canada, Croatia, Italy, Luxembourg, Montenegro, Portugal, Slovenia and Spain did not conscionable this people successful 2024.

NATO allies person besides travel under fire from the Trump administration, which accuses the confederation of relying excessively heavy connected US backing and has demanded that others measurement up spending to 5 percent of GDP.

The US presently contributes 15.8 percent to the NATO yearly $3.5bn spending. Trump has besides formed doubts connected whether the confederation should support those countries not spending enough.

In May, the US envoy to NATO, Matthew Whitaker, told reporters that “5 percent is our number. We’re asking our allies to put successful their defence similar they mean it.”

Due to that pressure, Secretary General Rutte is apt to inquire subordinate states to acceptable a caller people of 5 percent of GDP for their defence budgets by 2032, with astir 1.5 percent points of that acceptable speech for “soft spending” connected infrastructure and cybersecurity. However, immoderate countries, specified arsenic Spain, person rejected the hike arsenic unrealistic.

Meanwhile, Rutte has besides urged subordinate countries to boost their accumulation of weapons and defence systems. “We person fantastic concern companies successful the US, each implicit Europe and Canada, but they are not producing astatine speed,” helium said successful a June 12 statement. “So we request much shifts, much accumulation lines.”

Some members person already announced plans to boost defence spending.

Earlier this month, the UK announced plans to bring the state to “war readiness”. Its Strategic Defence Review (SDR) includes caller investments successful atomic warheads, a fleet of caller submarines and caller munitions factories. But portion the UK has truthful acold pledged to summation spending connected defence from 2.3 percent presently to 2.5 percent by 2027 – with “an ambition” to rise it to 3 percent successful the adjacent parliament (after 2029) – it is unclear if determination are plans to summation this further.

(Al Jazeera)

EU enactment of NATO

European countries are progressively looking to measurement up their enactment roles successful lawsuit Trump unilaterally pulls retired of NATO, the UK’s Financial Times paper reported successful March.

The UK, France, Germany and the Nordic countries were among those engaged successful informal but structured discussions connected reorganising the bloc’s finances to bespeak greater European spending, and hoped to contiguous a program to the US up of the summit, the insubstantial reported.

Although Trump has not stated the US volition permission NATO, Washington’s displeased posture has seen the EU bracing for a hard drawdown from the alliance. Talks could apt interaction connected a imaginable connection from the EU.

Already, the US is estimated to person spent 3.19 percent of its GDP successful 2024 connected defence, down from 3.68 percent a decennary ago, erstwhile each members initially promised to summation spending pursuing Russia’s annexation of Ukraine’s Crimean peninsula.

It would instrumentality astir 5 to 10 years of accrued EU spending to regenerate existent US capabilities, the FT reported.