Leaders from the NATO alliance, and non-ally Western leaders, are descending on Washington, D.C., for this summer’s summit.
The alliance is celebrating its 75-year anniversary, though the occasion will not solely be a celebration given the concerns and threats they’re facing, ranging from Russia’s war in Ukraine to Beijing’s continued aggression, among other topics.
Defense spending
Russia’s war in Ukraine, which will be a central topic of the summit, has spurred nearly the entire alliance to increase its defense spending. A majority of the alliance had been falling short of the defense spending requirements prior to Russia’s invasion, which represents the largest ground war in Europe since World War II.
The NATO alliance requires every member to spend at least 2% of its gross domestic product on defense spending, and at least 20% of it should be spent on equipment, weapons, and other capabilities.
Last month, NATO released its preliminary data for 2024, which showed that 23 of the 31 members hit that 2% mark. Ten years ago, only three NATO members hit the goal. Canada and Belgium are the only alliance members expected to fall short of the 20% spending requirement, both of whom also fell short of the 2% GDP requirement.
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Ukraine
Ukraine is not a member of the NATO alliance, and it’s highly unlikely not to be offered membership until the war has come to an end; otherwise, its ascension could immediately trigger Article 5 and bring the alliance directly into the conflict.
Despite that, the White House does believe Ukraine should get NATO membership in the long run.
“Allies will reaffirm that Ukraine’s future is in NATO; will make significant new announcements about how we’re increasing NATO’s military, political, and financial support for Ukraine. This is part of Ukraine’s ‘bridge to NATO,’” a senior Biden administration official said.
Biden/Trump
President Joe Biden is facing significant concerns domestically following last month’s presidential debate in which he appeared forgetful and lost, essentially raising flags about his fitness for another term.
Several House Democrats have called on him to end his presidential campaign, though he has repeatedly said he is staying in the race. His performance this week will be watched with bated breath.
Biden has rallied the alliance from the start of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine back in February 2022. The alliance has provided Ukraine with billions of dollars of military and humanitarian support over the course of the war. He has also been at pains to say in the aftermath of his disastrous debate with former President Donald Trump that NATO expansion happened on his watch.
His 2024 opponent has not been publicly as supportive of Ukraine as Biden, and he has spoken about the possibility of not coming to the defense of allies within the alliance who are not meeting the 2% spending requirement.
European upheaval
The summit will be new British Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s first appearance on the world stage, only days after his resounding victory in the elections. He will meet with Biden on Wednesday.
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Additionally, French President Emmanuel Macron’s government is facing political uncertainty after left-wing parties united to beat a surging far-right party.
Viktor Orban, the leader of Hungary, is one of Russian President Vladimir Putin‘s closest allies within NATO and recently traveled to Ukraine, Russia, and China following his recent takeover of the rotating presidency of the Council of the European Union.