Please join the Atlantic Council’s Transatlantic Security Initiative, in the Scowcroft Center for Strategy and Security, for a hybrid public event evaluating priorities for the milestone NATO Summit taking place in Washington, DC, this summer. Held in partnership with the Ministry of National Defense of the Republic of Lithuania, this event took place on Monday, April 29, from 9:45 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. ET at the Atlantic Council’s headquarters (1030 15th St NW, 12th Floor, Washington, DC 20005) and virtually.
As NATO accelerates preparations for its seventy-fifth anniversary Summit taking place in Washington this July, the transatlantic alliance will have much to celebrate. The accession of Finland and Sweden has added two highly-capable militaries to NATO’s roster. Allies bolstered NATO’s regional force posture and readiness with the adoption of a new suite of defense plans. And after decades of underinvestment, NATO’s European allies have ramped up defense spending in support of Ukraine and in recognition of the mounting Russian threat.
These causes for celebration are, however, juxtaposed with a deteriorating security environment and a collection of unfinished business from last year’s Vilnius Summit. Securing the future of the world’s most successful military alliance will require this year’s Summit to be one of implementation. NATO will be expected to take action to improve the under-equipped state of its defense industrial base, to reinforce its vulnerable eastern flank, and to demonstrate executability of its defense plans while also preparing for a new slate of challenges cutting across domains and beyond the military alliance’s traditional area of responsibility.
What else will feature on the transatlantic alliance’s agenda come July? The Atlantic Council will convene the third iteration of its high-level NATO Summit curtain raiser discussion to preview priorities ahead of what is expected to be a pivotal and politically-charged Summit.
This event is part of the Transatlantic Security Initiative’s 2024 NATO Washington Summit campaign. For more information and updates on future events and publications, follow @ACScowcroft
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