--- title: "NATO Summit in Albania Under Threat: US Dissatisfied with Defense Spending" description: "The NATO summit in Albania in 2027 is under threat of cancellation due to US dissatisfaction with the country's level of defense spending. The mention of Albania has been removed from the draft statement for the meeting in Ankara to avoid conflict with Trump. πŸ‡¦πŸ‡±πŸ‡ΊπŸ‡ΈπŸš«" date: 2026-06-30T20:58:00.000Z lang: en url: https://xab.info/en/posts/nato-summit-in-albania-under-threat-us-dissatisfied-with-defense-spending tags: [] publisher: "XAB.info" --- # NATO Summit in Albania Under Threat: US Dissatisfied with Defense Spending ![Donald Trump gesturing during a speech, expressing dissatisfaction with NATO allies' defense spending](https://xab.info/media/2026/06/30/sammit-nato-v-albanii-pod-ugrozoy-usa-neudovletvoreny-raskhodami/sammit-nato-v-albanii-pod-ugrozoy-usa-neudovletvoreny-raskhodami-1.webp) In the run-up to the NATO summit scheduled for next week in Ankara, a serious diplomatic crisis is brewing within the alliance. Plans to hold the next leaders' meeting in Albania in 2027 have come into question. The cause of this uncertainty is US dissatisfaction with the country's level of defense spending. ### Exclusion of Albania from the Draft Statement According to sources, the mention of holding the next meeting in Albania has been removed from the draft final statement for the summit in Turkey, which is being prepared these days. It was previously officially announced that this country would host the summit, but in the latest version of the document, the wording has become vague. A European diplomat confirmed that the text only states that leaders look forward to the next meeting, but no specific time or place is indicated in the draft. This is a departure from established practice, where NATO summit official statements traditionally directly specified the location of the next event. ### The Donald Trump Factor and Pressure on Allies This step is taken in the context of the European NATO members' desire to demonstrate progress in fulfilling defense spending commitments to US President Donald Trump. Alliance leaders intend to avoid open confrontations with the American leader in Ankara. One source noted that Albania's defense spending is such that holding the summit in that country in 2027 could irritate Trump. This, in turn, threatens negative headlines in the media and tension within the bloc. In April, Reuters reported that NATO was considering the possibility of abandoning annual summits, which could prevent a potentially conflict-ridden meeting with Trump at the end of his presidential term. ### Albania's Defense Budget and Tirana's Reaction In recent years, many NATO countries have increased their defense budgets, but some states still find it difficult to achieve even the alliance's basic goal β€” spending 2% of GDP on defense. NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte noted in early June that Albania, the Czech Republic, and Slovenia did not reach this figure last year, although they have committed to fulfilling it in the current year. Commenting on the situation, a representative of the Albanian government told Reuters that "drafts are just drafts, not decisions." At the same time, the Government of Albania, in its statement to the agency, confirmed that it is finalizing the development of the necessary fiscal measures. According to the document, after the adoption of these measures, Albania's defense and related expenditures for 2026 will amount to 2.6% of GDP in accordance with NATO methodology. Of this, 2.2% will be core defense expenditures, and 0.4% will be other expenditures related to defense and security. ### Background: From The Hague to Washington At the meeting in The Hague in 2025, NATO leaders stated in their address that they were awaiting a meeting in Turkey, followed by a meeting in Albania. It was there that the leaders responded to Trump's demand, promising to allocate 5% of GDP to defense and related measures over the next 10 years. Recall that this month, NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte arrived in Washington for a meeting with US President Donald Trump. According to Bloomberg, the goal of the visit was to reduce Trump's anger toward European allies who refused to help him in the campaign against Iran. After the meeting, Rutte stated that NATO must protect not only Europe but also the continental part of the US, ensuring Washington's decisive role on the world stage. Nevertheless, tensions persist. A few days later, Trump again criticized NATO for insufficient assistance in the Strait of Hormuz, calling Germany and Italy "very bad allies." Despite this, a European diplomat expressed confidence that Albania could still host the summit: "They are ramping up the topics, let's see where this leads. I still believe the next summit will take place in Albania".