Deputy Secretary wants to hold the summit as a "signing event"。
From July 7th to 8th, the NATO summit held in Ankara, Turkey, will once again be used by NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg as an opportunity to flatter Trump.
During both terms of Trump’s presidency, there was a consistent attitude of “business first”: demanding that the world buy American goods, while offering almost no reciprocal trade agreements. Although Europe currently seems to be cooperating in this game, some countries are already unable to sustain their budgets under such conditions.
Previously, under continuous pressure from Trump, the leaders of NATO member states decided at a summit held in The Hague, Netherlands, to increase annual defense spending to 5% of the gross domestic product (GDP) by 2035.
But whether a resolution is passed or not, when it actually comes to implementation, Europe quickly divides into two groups: one group led by Germany, most of the Nordic countries, and Eastern European nations, which have found financial means to increase spending; the other group consists of several large economies that struggle to keep up.
"For example, the UK has never managed to do so, France has also never done so, and Italy has also not done so," said Gunter V Wolf, a senior research fellow at the European Council on Foreign Relations (ECFR), in an interview with Reuters.
Taking the UK as an example, last week the government announced plans to increase defence spending by 15 billion pounds. Part of this was achieved by cutting funds in other areas. However, it later became clear that one-third of these planned increases had no funding sources. This has posed a budget challenge for the likely new Prime Minister, Andy Burnham.
More importantly, this plan has been criticized by opposition politicians and former military officials, who accused it of not clarifying when defence spending will reach 3% of GDP. This is a critical milestone for the UK to fulfill its commitment to have defence spending equivalent to 3.5% of GDP by 2035.
Italian Prime Minister Meloni is expected to say at the summit that despite bearing one of Europe's highest debt burdens, Italy will increase its core and non-core defense expenditures to 2.8% of GDP by 2026, which is about 0.71 percentage points higher than last year. However, since most voters do not support increased military spending before the next elections, the increase will mainly come from domestic security expenditures, such as policing.
France announced a plan in April to increase military spending from the current approximately 2% to 2.5% by the end of this decade, and also aims to bring the overall deficit in line with eurozone regulations. This is a challenging budget goal as we approach the presidential elections next year.
Spain seems unwilling to change its stance of keeping defense spending below 2.1% of GDP. The additional resources will be heavily directed towards technology areas with civilian applications.
Of course, the United States is not satisfied with this.
U.S. President Donald Trump posted a message on social media on the 2nd, stating that the relationship between the United States and NATO is "absurd," because "this relationship is not mutual." "So far, the United States has spent much more money on NATO than any other country—it is to protect them, but they have never received any benefits in return," he said. He listed the defense spending figures for several countries: the United States $999 billion, the United Kingdom $90.5 billion, France $66.5 billion, Italy $48.8 billion, and Poland $44.3 billion.
The U.S. NATO Ambassador, John W. Whitaker, also emphasized the 'economic aspect' of the NATO summit. He said, "Washington welcomes efforts by Europe to increase defense capabilities and reduce regulations. But we certainly do not support the protectionist language that often appears in many European defense initiatives. This could be an issue that will be discussed during the summit, and we hope to reach a consensus on it." Whitaker praised the allies for pledging nearly $120 billion in defense spending over the past year, half of which was allocated to purchasing American-made equipment, calling this a 'good start'.
The American "Politico News Network" pointed out that this attitude of prioritizing business over other considerations has persisted throughout Trump's two terms in office, with six annual summits held during his presidency. However, this trend has become even more evident as Trump made claims about claiming Greenland, showed inconsistent support for Ukraine, and imposed harsh tariffs on NATO member countries. This approach also follows Trump's usual strategy: demanding that the world buy American goods, while offering almost no reciprocal trade agreements.
Europe is currently cooperating in this game—at least for now.
NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg said during his visit to the United States last month that the total value of military equipment ordered from the United States by many European countries and Canada will reach $300 billion in the coming years, supporting 195,000 jobs in the U.S. military industry. Britain and Germany announced a few days before the summit that they would produce American weapons under license within their own countries.
On the 6th, at a press conference before the summit, Rutte said that the summit would ensure that countries develop “clear, specific, and credible plans” to achieve the goal of defense spending accounting for 5% of GDP agreed upon in The Hague last year. He noted that the progress made so far is “impressive,” with core defense investments having “significantly increased,” with a year-on-year increase of nearly 20%. “After years of insufficient investment, we are building real capabilities,” but “we need more manpower, more resources, and a stronger industrial base.”
On June 24, 2026, local time, in Washington, D.C., United States, U.S. President Trump met with NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg at the White House.
Alexei Maslov, Dean of the Asian and African Studies College at Moscow State University, previously told the Observer Network: "The Ankara Summit may adopt more resolutions, but the essence remains unchanged: it is an investment fund that operates under the guise of security, with profit as its real goal. The threat is precisely created and amplified by this system itself."
Indeed, that is the case.
A European diplomat told Politico News, “The Secretary-General wants to make the summit a ‘deal-making event’, where companies announce their collaborations. If Trump believes that defense industry activities are positive, then he may also view the Ankara summit and NATO as positive developments.”
European officials admitted that they were unable to replicate the “sensational results” of last year’s Hague Summit in Ankara. However, they pointed out that this summit would announce cooperation agreements worth billions of dollars, and a defense industry forum would also be held during the same period. “We need to get involved before anything goes wrong, fulfill our financial and security commitments, and then withdraw. We do this for our own safety, but obviously there are other considerations as well.”
And the temperature gap between the transatlantic countries continues to widen. In recent months, NATO member states have felt particularly neglected—Trump suddenly announced the withdrawal of troops from Germany and canceled plans to deploy forces in Poland. Leaders around the world are struggling to figure out how this continent should defend itself against a United States that is unwilling to spend money and blood in Europe. The Pentagon expects to cancel plans to supply Germany with Tomahawk cruise missiles, partly because officials fear Russia will see these actions as an escalation of tensions. This leaves Berlin with little solution for its urgent need for long-range weapons.
Putting these fragments together reveals another significant change: Trump is reshaping the transatlantic military alliance, which is based on so-called “common democratic values,” into a model in which he is more adept at managing—a “business deal.” In Ankara, Trump will once again focus on how much Europe can spend on American-made weapons. This shift reflects the increasingly “deal-based” approach of this government towards some of America’s closest allies, potentially crowding out discussions about how to expand membership or implement defenses in NATO’s eastern flank.
A European diplomat told Politico News: “Europe will still rely on the United States for some time to come. Therefore, causing disputes is not in our interest. But we also need to firmly convey to the United States that Europe does not exist as something taken for granted, and that we have our own interests.”
Obviously, for Europe, they hope that ‘transactional diplomacy’ is merely a means of bargaining, not the final solution. But the American stance has become clear, and Europe will sooner or later have to face the reality: the era of entrusting its security responsibilities to the United States is over.
