NATO News
Reports on NATO’s role in global defense, Europe, and U.S. foreign policy. Conservative opinion and commentary from The Daily Signal accompany the news.
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news
NATO’s Newest Member Outspending Longtime Participants on Defense
STOCKHOLM, Sweden—Sweden is the newest NATO member, and it’s already outpacing more than half of its fellow member nations on defense spending. “And of course, we did not join NATO just to get security guarantees, but also to be a security provider,” Swedish Minister of Defense Pal Jonson told The Daily Signal. Sweden… -
opinion
Trump Is Right to Keep Ukraine Out of NATO
After he met with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Alaska and before he met with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy at the White House, President Donald Trump issued a pointed statement on Truth Social. “President Zelenskyy of Ukraine can end the war with Russia almost immediately, if he wants to, or he can continue to fight,”… -
opinion
$828 Billion Short, NATO’s Path Back Starts With 5 Percent—and a Long Memory
At its 2025 summit this week, NATO announced a new military spending target of 5%—something President Donald Trump referred to as a “monumental change” for America and its allies, praise that has been echoed by other foreign dignitaries. At the summit, alliance members pledged to allocate 3.5% of gross domestic product annually to defense and… -
news
Trump Takes Victory Lap on NATO Spending
President Donald Trump has secured a commitment to increase defense spending from European allies at this week’s NATO summit, held at The Hague in the Netherlands. “Allies commit to invest 5% of [gross domestic product] annually on core defense requirements as well as defense- and security-related spending by 2035 to ensure our individual and collective… -
opinion
Romania, Bulgaria Must Increase Defense Spending to Strengthen NATO’s Critical Southeastern Flank
Although last year provided evidence of great improvement, Romania and Bulgaria still need to continue increasing their defense spending to strengthen NATO’s southeastern flank. Both nations spent over 2% of their gross domestic product—the measure of the total value of goods and services their countries’ produced—on their defense in 2024. Two percent is currently the… -
news
‘TIME TO LEAVE’ NATO?: Some in GOP Sour on Defense Pact After Europe’s Bow to Zelenskyy
Republican members of Congress are becoming increasingly hostile toward NATO amid European solidarity with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy after his Oval Office shouting match Friday with President Donald Trump. The American effort to broker Russia-Ukraine peace talks has encountered headwinds recently, with European leaders expressing support for Zelenskyy, and the British prime minister attempting to… -
news
Senate Overwhelmingly Votes for Sweden, Finland to Join NATO
The Senate has approved a treaty allowing Sweden and Finland to join NATO. The treaty, gaining bipartisan support, passed Wednesday by a vote of 95-1 in favor of expanding the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, The New York Times reported. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., and Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-K.Y., voiced support for ratifying the treaty… -
opinion
Estonia: America’s Unique, Valued NATO Ally That Stands for Freedom and Sovereignty
The small Baltic nation of Estonia—a once-communist republic—now stands as one of the freest economies in the world, a shining example and defender of freedom, and a tremendous ally of the West. As a former republic of the old Soviet Union, it has some advice for dealing with Russian President Vladimir Putin’s recent aggressions. Estonia’s… -
opinion
NATO Allies Now Spend $50 Billion More on Defense Than in 2016
President Donald Trump has placed a significant emphasis on the need for increased defense spending among NATO allies, and the newest data suggests his efforts are paying off. In 2016, non-U.S. NATO members spent $262 billion on defense; in 2020, they will spend $313 billion. Regardless of whether this increase resulted from changing threat perceptions… -
opinion
North Macedonia’s Accession to NATO an Important Milestone
North Macedonia is set to officially become the 30th member of NATO this week with the deposit of its “instrument of accession” at the U.S. Department of State. On March 17, the Spanish Senate ratified North Macedonia’s accession protocol, becoming the 29th and final NATO member state to do so. The U.S. Senate by a… -
opinion
Scholar Disinvited as Speaker for NATO Celebration Shouldn’t Have Planned to Criticize President
I recently came across Stanley Sloan’s Dec. 7 Facebook post, in which he let his friends and followers know that his planned address for the Dec. 10 celebration of NATO’s 70th anniversary was abruptly canceled by the Danish Atlantic Council. The cancellation was due to the decision by the U.S. Embassy in Copenhagen not to support… -
news
How a Former Warsaw Pact Nation Became an Example for NATO Allies
WARSAW, Poland—Tomasz Szatkowski is an anomaly on two fronts. He’s the youngest ambassador to NATO and represents one of just seven members of the 28-nation alliance that pay their full share to support it. NATO policy requires member nations to spend at least 2% of their gross domestic product on defense. Poland does that now,… -
opinion
After Clearing a Hellenic Hurdle, Macedonia’s Bid to Join NATO Heads to Senate
President Donald Trump on April 29 officially sent to the Senate for ratification the protocol for the Republic of North Macedonia to accede to NATO. Macedonia’s accession to NATO will strengthen the alliance, contribute to regional stability in the western Balkans, and send a strong message to pernicious actors—such as Russia—that they do not have… -
opinion
Hungary Is Key to Shoring Up NATO Alliance
Closer ties with the countries of Central Europe are a national security policy priority for the Trump administration—and a long-overdue return to the policies of President George W. Bush after years of neglect by the Obama administration. Within NATO, these countries are reliable allies, and within the European Union, they form a bloc friendly to… -
news
NATO Chief Credits Trump for Allies’ Boosting Defense Spending, Rules Out Naming HQ for McCain
NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg says allies are stepping up in their commitments to defense spending, and gives some of the credit to President Donald Trump. Stoltenberg also told an audience at The Heritage Foundation in Washington on Friday that the international defense alliance likely would not name its headquarters after Sen. John McCain, the veteran… -
opinion
Trump Is Right. NATO Countries Need to Up Their Defense Spending.
President Donald Trump may have offended some of our allies last week when he delivered a stern message reminding them of their unmet defense spending promises, but it was not a message they haven’t heard before. “If we’ve got collective defense,” then-President Barack Obama said at a 2014 NATO press conference in Brussels, “it means… -
news
On Russian Gas and NATO Military Spending, Trump and Ukraine See Eye to Eye
KYIV, Ukraine—This week in Brussels, U.S. President Donald Trump pushed for NATO members to both boost their military spending and reduce their spending on Russian gas. Trump’s blunt message may have fallen flat among the leadership of some NATO allies, as well as the Western press corps. Yet, it was likely to resonate in Ukraine,… -
opinion
Before Judging Trump, NATO Allies Should Do Some Soul-Searching
President Donald Trump has no doubt caused a stir in Europe this week. Among other things, he has said Germany is a “captive” to Russia due to its recent oil and gas deals, and that he expects NATO countries to “immediately” increase defense spending to relieve some of the unfair burden on the U.S. I… -
news
Watch US-Led NATO Forces Prepare to Defend Eastern Europe From Russia
This summer, the U.S. military led two NATO exercises in the Baltics—Trojan Footprint and Saber Strike. Altogether, the two exercises marked a new era of conventional military threats, which the U.S. military and its NATO allies are preparing to combat after a generation focused on counterinsurgency operations. Above all, Russia’s 2014 invasion of Ukraine hangs like a sword of…