The summit with the presence of heads of state and government from all 28 members of the Alliance is the first to be attended by President Donald Trump of the United States and the newly elected President Emmanuel Macron of France. Montenegro that will become a full-fledged member of NATO on 7 June will also be present.
Leaders will discuss the sharing of contributions and responsibilities among NATO members, ensuring collective defense, strengthening the fight against terrorism, implementing deterrence measures agreed last year in Warsaw, the deployment of forward presence battalions in the Baltic states and Poland, as well as further strengthening of the Alliance.
NATO forward presence battalions led by Germany, the United Kingdom and the U.S. are already stationed in Lithuania, Estonia and Poland. In June, a Canadian led battalion will be deployed to Latvia. An additional U.S. brigade and heavy equipment continuously rotate on a bilateral basis in the region to enhance NATO’s deterrence against the threat posed by Russia.
During the summit, a new NATO headquarters building will be opened in the presence of King Philippe of the Belgians. This is one of the most modern buildings in the world with special focus on ecology and sustainable energy consumption.
In Brussels, two memorials will be unveiled. One of them will be dedicated to the Berlin Wall to symbolize the victory of freedom over oppression.
The second memorial will honor the victims of the 11 September 2001 terror attack in New York. It was then that Article 5 of the Washington Treaty, enshrining the core principles of NATO’s collective defense, was invoked for the first time. Thousands of people lost their lives in the terror attacks in New York when the World Trade Center Twin Towers were destroyed.
