NATO is scaling back its high-level diplomatic calendar and will not hold a leaders’ summit in Albania next year as previously planned, reflecting ongoing tensions within the alliance over defense spending, the war in Ukraine, and policy toward Iran.
Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama confirmed Thursday that “there is not yet a common position on when the summit will happen, for sure not in 2027.” He added that “in 2028, if it will be a summit, it will be in Tirana,” the nation’s capital.
Secretary-General Mark Rutte downplayed the cancellation. “We are flexible with NATO summits,” he told The Associated Press in an interview. “We have summits when we need them,” he said, pledging to convene the next one “when a necessity is there.” Until roughly a decade ago, the alliance held summits on a biennial basis.
Ministerial meetings also reduced
The retrenchment extends beyond leaders’ gatherings. NATO defense ministers typically meet in October, but no talks took place last month, and none are scheduled for October 2027. Foreign ministers have only one session planned for next year instead of the usual two, part of what NATO describes as a “reorganization package.”
U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and Secretary of State Marco Rubio have each skipped a NATO meeting or departed early since assuming office. Hegseth has used defense ministerials to pressure European allies and Canada over burden-sharing.
Questions over Albania’s defense investment
The aborted summit underscores broader alliance challenges. Albania was designated as the 2026 host in 2025, but its name was omitted from the July summit declaration. Some allies argue Tirana is not investing sufficiently in defense and were reluctant to reward it with the flagship event. The Albanian government is projected to spend 2.15 percent of gross domestic product on defense this year.
NATO’s 2035 targets call for members to allocate 3.5 percent of GDP to core defense and 1.5 percent to defense-related infrastructure. While Albania falls short of the new benchmark, it is not the furthest behind; Spain, Belgium, and Slovenia currently trail by wider margins.
Summits impose heavy financial and political costs
Hosting a summit carries significant expense. The Netherlands required a year of preparation and roughly $100 million for the 2025 meeting in The Hague. Officials indicated NATO would have needed to confirm Albania by October to allow adequate preparation time for a 2026 gathering.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan refurbished a military airport and mobilized tens of thousands of security personnel for this year’s summit in Ankara, effectively shutting down parts of the capital. “There’s always a lot of security involved,” Rutte told AP. “It is a costly event to organize a meeting with 32 allies and then partner countries and the Indo-Pacific partners we have, like Japan and Korea, Australia, New Zealand.” Asked if the investment was justified, Rutte replied: “It is.”
Keeping leaders focused remains a challenge
The Ankara summit also highlighted political volatility. Before formal talks began, former U.S. President Donald Trump revived claims regarding Greenland—an autonomous territory of NATO ally Denmark—striking at the alliance’s foundational principle of mutual defense. He also demanded “loyalty,” accusing NATO of insufficient support for his administration’s pressure campaign against Iran.
Summits are traditionally sober demonstrations of resolve designed to deter adversaries, a function European allies consider critical given Russia’s posture. In Ankara, Rutte orchestrated a defense-industry showcase to demonstrate to Washington that allies are increasing expenditures.
Experts question necessity of frequent summits
Beyond cost and diplomatic friction, analysts suggest the current pause may be prudent. New spending goals, capability targets, and force planning were addressed in Ankara.
“There’s a strong argument to be made that if there aren’t things that merit bringing 32 leaders together, well then maybe you don’t have the meeting,” said David Cattler, a senior fellow at the Center for European Policy Analysis and former top NATO intelligence official. “You could go two, maybe three years.”
Should a crisis emerge, alternatives exist. NATO convened its first-ever virtual summit in February 2022 following Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine.