NATO in May 2026: the most important developments in politics
In May 2026 NATO was dominated by the future of the United States' role in the alliance. In early May Washington announced it would withdraw up to 5,000 troops from Germany, and NATO said it was seeking clarity on the reduction. Poland's Donald Tusk said the move was evidence that NATO was disintegrating, while Secretary General Mark Rutte said European allies had understood and accepted President Donald Trump's demands on defence spending and bases. Trump criticised NATO and European countries repeatedly. On 8 May Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Trump had not decided on withdrawing from NATO but that there was a problem with the alliance. Later reports said the US planned significant cuts to its military contributions, and on 30 May Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said the United States would stop subsidising wealthy NATO members. NATO's top military officer said there was no drama with the US.
The Iran war added to the strain. Meeting NATO foreign ministers in Sweden and Turkey around 21 and 22 May, Rubio said Trump was very disappointed with allies over the war and that NATO must be good for all involved. Rutte outlined a vision he called NATO 3.0, aimed at a stronger Europe within the alliance. Reports described European plans for an alternative to NATO, which NATO officials dismissed, and EU lawmakers demanded defence independence from it. Poland urged spending of 5 percent of GDP by 2030, while the Czech prime minister said his country was unlikely to meet the target.
Russia was the other main thread. Vladimir Putin denounced NATO at the Victory Day parade on 9 May, and Sergey Lavrov called an Asian NATO-like alliance a threat to Russia. After a Russian drone hit a house in Romania on 29 May, the US pledged to defend every inch of NATO territory and Rutte condemned Russian recklessness; the Russian embassy in Romania said Romania was using the incident for confrontation. Poland's Tusk demanded a stronger response to provocations on the eastern flank. Japan joined the NATO mission for Ukraine for the first time, and NATO halted deeper cooperation with Serbia over attacks in Kosovo.
by WorldBrief & Maksim Micheliov | AI-generated summary
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