NATO Summit 2025: Representatives from all 32 member states of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) are set to gather in The Hague, Netherlands, for the 2025 NATO Summit on June 24 and 25. The summit is taking place at a time when key geopolitical challenges loom large.
Every member nation’s head of state or government is expected to attend the summit. The high-stakes summit also comes at a time when fears of a wider Israel-Iran-US war loom large. Experts believe that the discussions are likely to focus on issues such as the war in Ukraine, the Iran-Israel war, economic instability, the rise of Euroscepticism, and questions about the United States’ long-term commitment to the alliance.
What is NATO?
The North Atlantic Treaty Organization, commonly known as NATO, is a political and military alliance established in 1949. Its primary mission of the alliance is to safeguard the security and freedom of its members through political and military means.
NATO was founded in Washington, D.C., by 12 countries. These include Belgium, Canada, Denmark, France, Iceland, Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, the UK, and the US. NATO’s core principle is the collective defense of the alliance.
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An attack on one member is considered an attack on all under Article 5 of its founding treaty. Following the 9/11 terrorist attacks, this principle was put into action for the first and only time on September 12, 2001.
“All NATO Allies stood with America as though they had also been attacked,” the alliance states.
NATO was originally formed to stop the expansion of the former Soviet Union, a bloc of communist republics including Russia.
Who Are the Members of NATO?
NATO has expanded over the decades to include 32 member countries. These countries are from Europe and North America. 20 nations have joined since 1949 in addition to 12 founding members. When the Soviet Union was dissolved in 1991, several Eastern European countries became NATO members.
Article 10 of the North Atlantic Treaty outlines NATO’s “open door policy,” allowing the alliance to invite any European state. The joining country has to uphold the treaty’s principles and contribute to North Atlantic security. However, for any country that is outside Europe and wants to join, all existing members must unanimously ratify its accession. This gives each member veto power.
What Does NATO Do?
The primary responsibility of NATO is the collective defense of the alliance countries. However, the role extends well beyond that. It coordinates military planning, conducts joint military exercises, and responds to international crises.
The alliance also plays an important role in counterterrorism across the globe. The alliance focuses on threat assessment, capability development, and partnerships with other nations and international organizations. NATO is a full member of the Global Coalition to defeat ISIS. It is also involved in operations such as the NATO Mission Iraq. For nearly two decades, NATO was active in Afghanistan to fight against the Taliban.
NATO is headquartered in Brussels, Belgium. Every member country has a permanent delegation here. The main decision-making body of the alliance is the North Atlantic Council, which is chaired by the NATO Secretary General, currently Jens Stoltenberg of Norway. Each country has one vote, and decisions are made by consensus. Allied Command Operations is based in Mons, Belgium. Similarly, Allied Command Transformation is located in Norfolk, Virginia, United States. These commands manage missions, training, and crisis response operations in the member countries.
NATO Funding
NATO does not possess its own standing army. Instead, it relies on the voluntary contributions of member states. The member countries provide both personnel and resources. Every NATO member shares the costs of running the alliance based on Gross National Income through a formula. The total common funding stands at roughly €3 billion annually, which constitutes about 0.3% of the combined defense spending of all allies.
There has been growing pressure on member states to increase their defense spending. In January, President Donald Trump urged European members to allocate 5% of their GDP to defense.
“They can all afford it,” Trump told reporters. Similarly, US defense secretary Pete Hegseth stated the US would no longer “tolerate an imbalanced relationship” with its NATO allies.
NATO’s new Secretary General, Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte, has also echoed calls for increased defense spending. In 2024, 23 member countries reportedly met the 2% GDP defense spending target, a significant rise from just three countries in 2014.
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