The North Atlantic Treaty Organization is considering dropping the recent practice of annual summits, six sources told Reuters. Two of them pointed to US President Donald Trump, who has consistently criticized allies, most recently accusing them of not supporting the United States in the war against Iran, as a factor.
The frequency of NATO summits has varied in the 77 years of the alliance's history, the practice of annual meetings being a recent one.
Starting from 2021, the leaders of the NATO states have held one summit each year and will have one in 2026, on July 7-8, when they will meet in Ankara, Turkey.
Some NATO states are advocating, however, for a reduction in frequency, said a high-ranking European official and five diplomats, all from member states, on condition of anonymity.
Two of the sources pointed to Trump as a factor, and Reuters wrote that this would avoid a potentially tense meeting in the current American leader's final year at the White House. Other sources said broader considerations were at play.
NATO is considering not holding the summit in 2028
A diplomat said the 2007 summit, scheduled to take place in Albania, was likely to take place in the fall, but that NATO was considering holding no summit in 2028, Donald Trump's last full calendar year in the White House.
Another diplomat said some countries were insisting on holding summits every two years, but said no decision had been made and Secretary-General Mark Rutte would have the final say.
Responding to a question from Reuters, a NATO official said the alliance “will continue to hold regular meetings of heads of state and government, and between summits NATO allies will continue to consult, plan and make decisions about our common security.”
Pressure for attractive results
Some diplomats and analysts have long argued that annual summits create pressure for flashy outcomes that distract from long-term planning.
“Better to have fewer summits than bad summits,” said one diplomat.
The quality of discussions and decisions is the true measure of the alliance's strength, another diplomat said.
