Brussels(May 25, 2017): As Donald Trump attends his first NATO summit here, the world will be watching to see how the new U.S. president reassures European allies worried about the firmness of their bond of mutual defense.
Trump, for his part, seeks to widen the alliance’s role in combating terrorism and wants member states to increase their military spending.
Terrorism has moved to the top of the agenda for Thursday’s summit following the bloody suicide bombing on Monday night at a concert arena in Manchester, England. NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg is looking ahead to the gathering of leaders as a chance to show solidarity in the fight against all forms of terrorism.
The national leaders are expected to discuss expanding support for the coalition fighting the Islamic State group, which claimed responsibility for the slaughter in Manchester. Thus far, NATO has helped in such capacities as training Iraqi soldiers and providing early-warning aircraft support for coalition forces, but has stopped short of joining the coalition. Trump hopes to come away from the summit with assurances of greater NATO involvement in the fight against terror.
NATO members are considering announcing at the summit that the alliance will join the coalition. While each of the 28 member states already belongs to the alliance individually, taking part collectively would send a message about their unity in standing up to terrorism.
But there are reservations within the group, notably in Germany and France, which fear that doing so would lead to involvement in combat operations. An agreement is being sought that would first make clear that the alliance itself would not engage in combat, according to a diplomatic source from a member state.
Also on the agenda will be the issue of member nations spending more on defense. NATO has set a goal of increasing defense spending to 2% of gross domestic product by 2024. Only five members — the U.S., the U.K., Greece, Poland and Estonia — have reached this target. Trump has insisted that NATO members pay their fair share for mutual defense.
In response to such pressure, leaders at the summit are expected to present a road map toward the spending goal and agree to issue annual progress reports. These reports will examine not only spending but also operational contributions.
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