More Europe, Less U.S.? What to Expect from the NATO Summit

More Europe, Less U.S.? What to Expect from the NATO Summit

From War & Peace by International Crisis Group

June 20, 2025 · 28 min · Season 6 · Episode 11

About this episode

The episode discusses the upcoming NATO summit and the evolving role of European allies in defense amidst U.S. pressure.

In this episode of War & Peace, Olga and Elissa speak with Dr. Pia Fuhrhop, head of the International Security Research Division at SWP, about the upcoming NATO summit, transatlantic relations, and how European NATO allies are working to strengthen their own defence. They discuss expectations for the summit, the potential role of Ukraine, and the alliance’s push to raise defence spending targets to 5% of GDP amid growing U.S. pressure for more burden-sharing. They look at Germany’s evolving role in European security and the new government’s ambition to build “the strongest conventional army in Europe”. Finally, they consider the value of holding regular summits at a time when transatlantic relations are increasingly volatile. For more, check out our report Ukraine and Beyond: Shaping Europe’s Security Future and our Europe & Central Asia page. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

People in this episode

Guest: Dr Pia Fuhrhop

Topics covered

  • NATO summit
  • transatlantic relations
  • European security
  • defence spending
  • Ukraine

Keywords

  • defence
  • Germany
  • burden-sharing
  • conventional army

Mentioned in this episode

Products: Ukraine and Beyond: Shaping Europe’s Security Future, Europe & Central Asia

Books & works: War & Peace, Ukraine and Beyond: Shaping Europe’s Security Future, Europe & Central Asia

Places: Europe, U.S., Ukraine, Germany

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