WASHINGTON— In advance of the Ankara Summit, The Heritage Foundation published a special report titled NATO 3.0 and American Security Strategy in Europe.
Eighty years into NATO’s mission, the U.S. is forced by geopolitical necessity to prioritize deterring China, a monumental effort that will require a shift in resources and a change in force posture. Still, the U.S. has security and economic reasons to care about the future of Europe. A militarily strong Europe capable of defending its sovereign interests is in the U.S. interest, and America should promote European military capability so that European allies can take the lead in deterring Russia. The stronger that U.S. European allies are, the safer the Atlantic world will be, and the easier it will be for the U.S. to refocus resources to the Indo–Pacific. The success of this NATO 3.0 is critical to ensuring that the transatlantic Alliance endures to the mutual benefit of Americans and Europeans.
Wilson Beaver, Senior Policy Advisor, Defense Budgeting and NATO Policy in The Heritage Foundation Allison Center for National Security, commented on the importance of this report:
"Last year's summit in The Hague was a massive success for President Trump's efforts to increase defense spending across NATO. This year in Ankara, our European NATO allies are making huge new defense spending announcements to showcase their commitment to reaching the five percent pledge made last year. From an American perspective, a stronger European pillar of the NATO alliance is absolutely critical to securing the Atlantic theater as we pivot resources to the Pacific theater to deter China."
Heritage previously published reports on NATO's nuclear posture and 1.5 percent infrastructure spending requirement:
Flexible Response 2.0: Rebuilding NATO's Deterrence Architecture: European allies should assume primary responsibility for deterring high-intensity conventional conflict, while the United States ensures that NATO maintains a credible, and flexible theater nuclear deterrent that is capable of managing escalation if deterrence fails. At the top of the escalation ladder sits the Alliance’s ultimate guarantee: the strategic nuclear forces of the United States, the United Kingdom, and France. NATO 3.0, therefore, requires a modernized doctrine of Flexible Response 2.0.
NATO's 1.5 Percent Infrastructure Target: The 1.5 percent spending goal within the 5 percent of GDP defense spending minimum will be hugely beneficial to European security within the NATO Alliance if properly applied and rigorously followed. NATO should guard against creative accounting and enforce standards that lead to infrastructure spending that contributes to the legitimate security goals of member states and the Alliance generally. Expanding NATO’s ability to deter Russian aggression, expelling Chinese companies that spy on European NATO members and replacing them with European companies, and investing in the infrastructure needed for the enhanced role that Europeans will soon play in their own collective security are worthwhile initiatives within this spending category that NATO should formally embrace at the 2026 NATO Summit.
