In June 2026, NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte travelled to the White House to meet Donald Trump and prepare the Alliance summit scheduled for 7 and 8 July in Ankara. The meeting aimed to ease unusual transatlantic tensions, fuelled by disagreements over defence spending, the U.S. military presence in Europe and the war in Ukraine.
In the run-up to the summit, Trump publicly voiced frustration with European allies, faulting them for insufficient support during the war against Iran and for defence budgets seen as too low. In parallel, the Pentagon, led by Pete Hegseth, launched a six-month review of the U.S. military presence in Europe that could lead to reductions.
These exchanges come at a moment of structural strain for the Alliance. The U.S. administration's transactional approach — making security guarantees conditional on higher spending and on operational solidarity in theatres such as Iran — calls into question the principle of collective defence that has underpinned NATO since 1949. European capitals are accelerating their thinking on strategic autonomy while remaining dependent in intelligence, strategic transport and precision strike.
Several readings clash. Some actors frame the U.S. pressure as a legitimate sharing of the burden, others as a threat to the Alliance's credibility. The war in Ukraine remains in the background: Kyiv awaits firm commitments, while Moscow disputes NATO's claim to be a defensive actor and threatens countermeasures over its development in the Baltic. Turkey, the host country, intends for its part to reopen the F-35 aircraft file.
