ELN network members assess whether the Ankara summit marks a turning point for Europe’s role within NATO or a transition shaped by the US. They discuss defence spending, strategic autonomy, and the choices European governments must make to bolster the alliance in an uncertain security environment.
With the United States reducing its strategic role in Europe, NATO is entering a new era of European leadership. ELN Executive Director Robert Ondrejcsák argues that Europe’s priority should be strengthening alliance capabilities rather than creating parallel structures, while examining how rising defence spending, shifting military power within the continent, and new security partnerships will shape NATO’s long-term “Europeanisation”.
What are the consequences stemming from the seeming end of NATO’s global role? ELN Senior Associate Fellow Nicholas Williams looks back at two decades of NATO’s “out-of-area operations”, arguing that foreign crisis management missions have become strategic liabilities rather than assets, exposing European troops to global conflicts while doing little to enhance European security.
When NATO leaders meet in Ankara in July, they will do so against the backdrop of a strategic environment unlike any since the end of the Cold War. As Tacan Ilden writes, the alliance’s future effectiveness will depend not only on military strength but also on its ability to preserve political unity among allies whose threat perceptions and domestic political dynamics are increasingly divergent.
A decade after the Brexit referendum shattered the UK’s relationship with the EU, the ELN’s Nikita Gryazin argues that Europe’s security can no longer afford parallel approaches. With geopolitical pressures intensifying, he makes the case for turning political rapprochement into lasting security cooperation through stronger institutions, defence-industrial collaboration, and operational partnerships.
NATO’s ongoing adaptation process and unilateral US decisions have created the foundations for a larger European role in transatlantic security, writes ELN Programme Lead Alexander Graef. Whether Europeans can sustain that role politically remains uncertain. The value of the alliance’s upcoming summit may therefore ultimately lie in whether it helps Europeans begin addressing the political implications of a military transformation that is already underway.
Former UN High Representative for Disarmament Affairs Angela Kane argues that small states can wield outsized influence at the UN Security Council through coalition-building, diplomacy, and collective action. Reflecting on the recent Security Council elections, she explores how countries with limited power have shaped global governance and why their role is becoming increasingly important.
Ahead of the July NATO Summit in Ankara, Ahmet Üzümcü, former Permanent Representative of Turkey to NATO, reflects on the alliance’s transformation from 16 to 32 members and the challenges shaping its future. From burden-sharing and European defence to nuclear deterrence, Ukraine, China, and transatlantic tensions, he argues that NATO’s continued success will depend on unity, credible deterrence, and meaningful political consultation among allies.
Despite failing once again to adopt a final document, the 2026 NPT Review Conference revealed both troubling fractures and surprising resilience within the Treaty regime. From geopolitical polarisation and competing visions of the NPT to constructive discussions on AI and risk reduction, Emmanuelle Maitre writes, the conference offered reasons for concern and cautious optimism.