The NATO summit in The Hague (24-25 June) will be recalled for a number of reasons: the allies, barring Spain, committed to raising their spending on defence to 5% of GDP by 2035, a sum deemed inconceivable even six months ago; there were no significant disagreements, not least because all allies went out of their way to ensure that US President Trump was not upset, by anything; and NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte, formerly Premier of the Netherlands for a decade who objected to any form of extraneous collective spending, on defence and much more, managed to overshadow all Trump pacifiers by referring to him as Daddy.
One of the signs that the past five years have been dense and intense is that there has been a NATO summit every year since 2021 — in marked contrast to previous decades when such events were held only at “ important junctures in the Alliance’s decision-making process”, as the website puts it. But then again, in a world of increasing tensions and wars, latterly in Iran and endlessly in Ukraine, Gaza and the wider Middle East, and in a world of Putin, Xi and of course Trump, summits are necessary just to keep allies on board, or at least afloat. But they also showcase the harsh reality of a world of Strong Men who think of themselves as Big Men, making history.
This is a marked change to the previous decades, definitely since the end of the Cold War, and to understand its meaning, as well as the spectacle of the NATO summit, Ilana Bet-El is joined by two Big Women Leaders who were recent ambassadors to NATO: Kerry Buck of Canada and Muriel Domenach of France. Reflecting on the Alliance, the summit, security, defence, common values and much more, this Strong Discussion takes us on a Transatlantic tour in a time of major change.
This episode was recorded on 26 June 2025
Chapters
- What was the outcome of NATO Summit?
- Trump’s evolution over the NATO Summits
- How do Europeans deal with Trump’s behaviour?
- What is the future of NATO?
Mentions and more
- Muriel’s previous Women Leaders episode
- NATO Summit page
- Hague Summit Declaration
- Rutte on Trump
- John Bolton on Trump
- Kerry on The Decibel podcast “How Canada fits into the high-stakes NATO summit”
Follow
- Kerry Buck LinkedIn, X/Twitter
- Muriel Domenach LinkedIn, Globsec
- Instagram @women_leaders_podcast
- Ilana Bet-El
Credits
- Production: Florence Ferrando
- Music: Let Good Times Roll, RA from #Uppbeat (free for Creators!): https://uppbeat.io/t/ra/let-good-times-roll License code: ZXIIIJUU2ISPZIJT
The European Leadership Network itself as an institution holds no formal policy positions. The opinions articulated above represent the views of the authors rather than the European Leadership Network or its members. The ELN aims to encourage debates that will help develop Europe’s capacity to address the pressing foreign, defence, and security policy challenges of our time, to further its charitable purposes.
Image credit: Florence Ferrando
